Time Changes Everything
by ElphieUpland
Summary: The past eight years have changed Elphaba Thropp and Fiyero Tiggular, very much for the better. However, the past eight hundred years have changed the Lady Glinda even more. For good or for worse, it's hard to tell, but a reunion may not be so sweet.
1. The Return

**This is an idea I've had for awhile now, and this story is an experimental test. I'd appreciate it if you would review this and help me out.**

Lady Glinda roamed the hallways of the palace calmly, running her small, perfectly manicured hands along the cracked marble walls that were just as old as she. They had been constructed for the Wizard as a part of his redecorating project the year she was born, in fact. However, in contrast with the white marble that looked a dingy gray compared to her brilliantly sparkling layered dress, she did not show her age. Except in her eyes. Lady Glinda the Good was 826 years old, and the only signs of her age was the wisdom and pain in her glittering blue eyes and her detached manner of speaking.

Lady Glinda was sociable and all around pleasant to _everyone, _mind you, but very few people in recorded history had the pleasure of calling her a close friend. Any one who said so was either lying or was the envy of all of Oz. It was hard to have a true friend when you know that any friend you have will age and die in front of your eyes, while you remain perfect and untouched by time. Aside from that, Lady Glinda led the model life. She was the person every female wanted to be, and the person that every male had secretly wanted at least one point during their lifetime. Anyone was pleased when they got a chance to talk to her, but her detached voice made even the oldest of her conversational partners feel like a child. She had seen a lot through her years, and that particular trait was an inadvertent side effect.

Yes, Lady Glinda was loved. She had been loved unconditionally for 800 straight years. And she was happy. She had been hurt deeply in her early years, true, but time healed most wounds, and she had learned to cope after a couple hundred years. After all, she still had her bubbly disposition and optimistic outlook. What else did she need to be happy? Time? She had that.

"Lady Glinda?" A girl's timid voice echoed down the hallway, startling Lady Glinda out of her reverie. She turned to face the girl with a pleasant smile on her face, but the back of her rather large dress hit the wall of the narrow corridor and knocked her off balance. The girl's eyes widened as she rushed to to help, but Lady Glinda quickly regained her balance, putting her hand to her mouth and giggling conspiratorially, winking at the shy girl. The girl grinned. _More ice broken_, Lady Glinda thought, _mission accomplished_.

"Did you need something Lilla?" Lady Glinda asked pleasantly, pretending to take great care in fixing herself after her 'fall'. The girl continued to smile, thrilled that Lady Glinda the Good knew her name.

"Yes, Lady Glinda. It's just about time for your Laurus Day speech!" Inwardly, Lady Glinda's heart sank a little. She had gotten over crying for Elphaba long ago, but that didn't change the fact that she disliked the holiday that celebrated her best friend's death. Or the fact that she was forced to participate, as the news-bringer of Elphaba's death. She wasn't even sure that any of the Ozians remembered what they were celebrating. The fourth ruler of Oz had ordered all history books containing information on the Wicked Witch of the West burned, and had banned any further printing. He was one of those fools who thought that the best way to solve a problem would be to pretend it never existed. Then, Lady Glinda had a sudden and brilliant idea. An epiphany, as it were. It was wonderful really, and she was sure that it would solve one of the few problems she had left.

Lady Glinda smiled broadly, and Lilla found herself doubting that the shadow she had seen passing over Lady Glinda's face was real. It had lasted only a millisecond really, so Lilla discarded it as imaginary. "Yes it is, isn't it? Thank you for reminding me Lilla," Lady Glinda said, flashing her trademark grin. She paused, then added as an afterthought, "Lilla, do you know why we celebrate Laurus Day?"

Lilla shook her head and looked down at her feet, blushing fiercely. "I don't think anyone remembers anymore, Lady Glinda. Your speeches are awfully vague." Lady Glinda arched her eyebrow in surprise, an effective trick she had learned from Elphaba, and Lilla, mistaking it for anger, rushed to clarify, "But your speeches are always beautiful and motivating!" Lady Glinda smoothed her skirts, grinning from ear to ear. Her speeches had always been vague, but back when the celebration mattered to people, it had been plenty specific for them. She was never one to insult her friends, so of course she was vague. Luckily, that was something that played to her advantage today. She was suddenly very fond of the fourth ruler and his ignorance.

"Well, I shall certainly make things very clear in my speech today," Lady Glinda said reassuringly, well aware that she was going to break the oldest promise she had ever kept, "Thank you for your critique Lilla!" She tossed her blonde locks behind her with her hand and started walking hurriedly, but still gracefully, towards the Center Balcony.

"Wait, no! I wasn't critiquing you Lady Glinda!" Lilla called desperately after the blonde's retreating form. She considered chasing Lady Glinda down the hallway, but that would be unladylike, even for a palace servant.

"Of course you didn't, deary!" Lady Glinda called amiably, her voice echoing back through the corridor and reminding Lilla distinctly of her grandmother. If she didn't know both of their voices inside and out, she would have sworn it was. Lilla sighed heavily and dashed through the palace. She didn't want to be late for the speech after all.

-.-.-.-.-

Lady Glinda glided out onto the Center Balcony to thunderous applause, with quite a few people chorusing the old saying, "Looook! It's Glinda!". For a long time, she was greatly annoyed by that act, but she realized with some horror that it had become a popular saying and would never go away. Once she finally resigned herself to her fate, she found that she became accustomed to it and even a little happy with it. It was one of the few things that never changed around her.

"Fellow Ozians," she began, her voice ringing throughout the square to more wild cheering, "Today is the 800th celebration of Laurus Day, and what an enchanting day it is!" The cheering continued, and for the first time in a long time, Lady Glinda began to get nervous in front of crowd. This is where she risked quite a few things for Elphaba's sake. She wasn't good at masking nervousness. She had never needed to. Luckily, the Center Balcony stood high enough above the crowd that her features were rendered indistinguishable to the Emerald City. For that, she was eternally grateful. The two guards behind her were just that. Behind her. They couldn't see her face either. Yet another thing to be grateful for. Lady Glinda took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking again, and her Ozians seemed to sense that something was off. Before anyone could worry, however, she smiled broadly and surveyed the crowd amiably.

"It has come to my attention today," Lady Glinda said, allowing a subtle hint of disappointment to creep into her voice, "That quite a few people are unaware of the origin of Laurus Day!" She finished by setting her hand her hand on the railing, as if the very idea made her faint. 800 years of life was more than enough time to learn how to make her point heard. The crowd dutifully gasped, and a few gallant men positioned themselves below her balcony, should she fall. Lady Glinda was pleased to note that underneath the gasping, there was an air of uneasiness. She could sense that very few Ozians, if any, actually knew the true origin of Laurus Day. Lady Glinda appeared to find solace in the crowd's apparent knowledge, and she waved away the men sweetly.

In a way, Lady Glinda was surprised by the men's behavior. Did they not recall that she had her bubble to save her? Were they not gallant, but simply dimwitted? Or had it really been that long since she had used it? Either way, they surely must've heard of her magic bubble. How peculiar. Lady Glinda realized with a start that she had let an uneasy silence fall over her audience. Oops. She held up her hands imploringly and spoke again. "Would any brave soul in the crowd be kind enough to reeducate us all?" Her voice rang out nicely through the silence, and all through the city. Bless the seventh ruler and his amplification spells. Then, one man near the back of the crowd piped up.

"It's to celebrate the ancient downfall of the wicked green," Lady Glinda bit her lip nervously. If even one person still knew of Elphaba's history, her plan would have to wait another couple of centuries, "Giant serpent that used to reside in the Vinkus Lake!" the man finished in all seriousness. Nobody in the crowd laughed. In fact, quite a few people were voicing their agreement.

After a few seconds, Lady Glinda recovered from her initial shock, and her heart soared in happiness. Not a single soul remembered! Not one! Sure, there were people strewn all across Oz, but her speeches were linked directly the heart of every city, and everybody heard them. She was almost like a deity to Oz now, and everyone worshipped her. She was also the only credible source of information pertaining to matters of over 400 years ago. She could now easily convince those who may still know that they were wrong. Keeping with her famed personality, instead of breaking out into raucous laughter, she raised her hand to her mouth and giggled. The crowd murmured in confusion. The same man spoke again, confident from his seeming success, "Lady Glinda, if I may ask," he said awkwardly, "What strikes Your Goodness as humorous?" Lady Glinda raised her hand calmly as she regained her composure. Her audience immediately fell silent, listening reverently.

"Sir," she said cautiously, not eager to offend, "Pardon my contradiction, but your statement could not be further from the truth!" The confusion in the air was almost palpable, and Lady Glinda's heart started to race. She never liked to lie, but she told herself that this was a very important lie, one that was close to her heart. That, however, did not change the fact that lying was not her forte.

"Laurus Day," she said in what she hoped was a smooth voice, "Was created in honor of a very dear friend of mine, who died 800 years ago today. Now, hear me out fellow Ozians, while a death may not be anything to celebrate, my friend..." Lady Glinda trailed off, the pain and circumstances of Elphaba's death rushing back to her in a sudden flash. "My closest friend in the whole of Oz..." Glinda began to tear up, something she hadn't done in a few centuries. The crowd suddenly felt sympathy for their beloved Lady Glinda, and each person wondered who this friend was that had the immense privilege of being so close to her heart.

Lady Glinda shook herself off, tears falling onto her dress. Now was NOT the time to lose composure. She steeled herself and continued. "My dear friend was a very unique person," Lady Glinda said, her voice shaking treacherously, "And widely loved-" Or at least, that's the way it should have been, Lady Glinda thought bitterly, "-but she did not want people to mourn her, so I reluctantly agreed to make Laurus Day a cause for celebration. Forgive me, fellow Ozians, for failing to make this clear. I still remember the events quite clearly, and it had not occurred to me that you all may not recall as much as I do." Lady Glinda smiled warmly. Now her whole fake story was out. Her Ozians could take it or leave it. Thankfully, none of the Ozians seemed suspicious of her hastily made-up story. A few people cheered her on encouragingly.

All at once, a huge weight was lifted off of her shoulders, and Lady Glinda grinned in a way reminiscent of her days at the highly esteemed Shiz University. Could this plan have gotten any better if Lilla had warned her earlier and given her more time to plan? She doubted it. Elphie's name was finally cleared! "And now, fellow Ozians-"

"Lady Glinda!"

"Hnmh?" Now why did that sound oddly familiar?

"Please, tell us more about your close friend! We want to know more!" Oops. This was not something she had intended. What was she to do now? There was no graceful way to get out of this. Unless... well, why couldn't she tell the Ozians about Elphaba? They deserved to know all about how wonderful she really was. All Lady Glinda would have to do is leave a few things out of her story.

"Very well," Lady Glinda said softly, and she smiled fondly. This might turn out be be a good holiday after all. "My friend," she said, falling into her storytelling voice as several Ozians made themselves comfortable, "Was a wonderful person with an unusual skin color. Her name was Elphaba. But secretly, she abhorred that name! Hated it! She demanded to be called Elphie." Well, what was wrong with bending the truth a little bit here and there?

-.-.-.-.-

Fiyero Tiggular wasn't exactly the calm, faithful type of man, but something about the world outside of Oz and living with Elphaba had changed him. He had mellowed over these eight years of an essentially nondescript life in America. He sat down at the kitchen table, looking down at his hands to make sure they hadn't miraculously turned to straw before picking up a cup of coffee and the morning newspaper. This was a daily ritual for him, and he was always up around 6:30 to watch the sun rise and shine into the eastern window. He would effectively have half an hour to himself before Fae would wake up, and they would start their day together. Just like Fiyero was no longer straw, Elphaba was no longer green, and while Elphaba had been beautiful in her own skin in Oz, she was breathtakingly gorgeous with a "normal" shade of skin.

Yes, he liked this world called Earth more than he ever thought he would. They hadn't had to get jobs at all, because Fae's spells were remarkably useful for forging their own money. It wasn't exactly the honorable thing to do, but they had no information or birth certificates to speak of. They needed those, and how Fae had managed to wrangle them a house out of all this was beyond him. Still, he lived a pretty nice life. It was rather boring at times, but according to their next door neighbor, work was just as boring. Fiyero was pretty sure that his next door neighbor thought he and Fae were the two weirdest people on the planet, but that might be true, so Fiyero didn't mind. He and Fae weren't limited to anything in this world. Once, they went skydiving, and that was a mind-blowing experience. Fae was really into it now, because it reminded her of flying on her broom.

For some reason, Fiyero had adapted to the new way of life much easier than Elphaba had. Everywhere she went, she kept expecting people to stare at her. Every time she wanted something, she couldn't just stare down the cashier and have it handed to her. He loved Fae, and the things she did never failed to make him laugh, but she was clearly having a hard time on Earth, even after eight years of living there. He could always tell when Elphaba was thinking about her old life, because her face would periodically brighten and darken. It had gotten to the point where he could tell exactly what she was remembering by the look on her face. He hated the look on her face when she thought of the witch-hunts. It was a mixture of despair, loss, and fear, and Fiyero hated it. She had been thinking about it more often, which worried Fiyero, and he wished there was something he could do to make her feel better.

"Yero?" Elphaba called through the house, her voice unusually alert for this time of day. In the background, Fiyero could hear the morning news announcing the latest fashion trends. His eyebrows shot up in surprise. Fae was hardly a morning person, and she was awake half an hour early. This could only mean one thing.

"What do you want?" he called back, sipping his coffee carefully. After eight years, he was still afraid that he might stain himself if he spilled.

"I've been thinking..."

"God help us," Fiyero muttered under his breath.

"I heard that," Elphaba said sharply as she turned into the kitchen. Fiyero immediately stopped to stare. He couldn't help it. Fae was just so beautiful in the morning. Her long black hair was loosely tied up and her blank tank top and black pajama pants made her look irresistible. He found himself grinning. Elphaba, however, was not amused. "I've been thinking," she said quietly, sitting down across from Fiyero and slinging her arm casually over the chair, "That we should go back to Oz."

Fiyero immediately sobered. "No," he said in a firm voice, hoping that, for once, Elphaba would take that as an answer. No such luck.

Elphaba's eyes visibly hardened the way they usually did when she wasn't going to give up something. "I know you don't want to be straw again Fiyero, and trust me, I've enjoyed being _normal_," Fiyero flinched at the scathing tone in her voice, "But I need to see Glinda. We left her with the Wizard. She could be in worse shape than ever before, especially with Madame Morrible on her case. I-I just want to check." Elphaba finished her plea with a very worried voice, but Fiyero was onto her. "It's been eight years Fae. Glinda's either fine, or it's too late for us to do anything about it. Besides, while things have probably settled themselves, if the Wicked Witch of the West shows up again, what'll you think will happen? You'll be hunted again. I just can't risk losing you. Give it up Elphaba, it's not happening." Fiyero tried this point of view, and it visibly shook Elphaba, but she didn't crack. Of course she wouldn't. She never did.

"Just a check," Elphaba pleaded, "Glinda was my best friend. I need to see that she's okay. We could just go back through the portal for a second. We'd land in Kiamo Ko, I could shield us with an invisibility spell, and off we'd go on an invisible broom to check on Glinda. That's all. We don't even have to show ourselves to her." She had subconsciously leaned forward while she spoke, a habit she had to entice people into doing what she wanted.

"You want to go directly to the Emerald City to check on her?" Fiyero hissed, "Forget it. It's suicide and we're not doing that."

"This isn't about us Fiyero!" Elphaba said in a slightly raised voice. "This is about Glinda! I never should have left her like that! What if something happened to her? We could bring her back here with us!"

"Elphaba, we have a _life_ here. We have friends and a future. Back there, you only get pain. Don't think I haven't seen the looks on your face lately. Those witch-hunts were terrible, and they would most certainly happen again."

Fae bit her lip. "I'm fully aware of that Fiyero. I know what could happen to me if we went back. But Glinda and Oz haven't gone away simply because we left Oz. Both are still very real, and both could be in trouble under the Wizard's reign."

"Fae. It's not happening. Glinda's a force to be reckoned with, trust me. She'll be just fine, no matter who's ruling. Maybe she's in charge now. I can't imagine her standing there and letting your death roll by smoothly."

Elphaba looked at her hands let a tiny smile sneak onto her face. She could imagine Glinda scolding the Wizard to no end. Maybe even hurting him. Then she heaved a deep sigh and frowned again. She looked up at Fiyero, and a surprisingly tired look was in her eyes. Not the sleepy kind of tired. The… off kind of tired. "Fine, Fiyero," she said as she pushed her chair back and stood up, "We don't have to go back to Oz _today_, but mark my words, this conversation is far from over."

Fiyero shuddered as Elphaba wandered back into their room after grabbing a cup of coffee. He had thought, knowing Elphaba, that this argument would last a lot longer, but he was definitely fearing the next time she would broach this subject. By then, she would have a thousand irrefutable reasons to go back to Oz.

Fiyero hated it when he was right. Fae began waking up every morning at the same time he did, and each morning she would present him with another reason to go back to Oz. He would listen to her with what he claimed was open ears, but she never believed him. Although he was staunchly against putting her in danger, her arguments were getting harder and harder to discard, and his resolve was wearing out.

"Fiyero, just hear me out today!" Elphaba said excitedly, slinging herself onto the chair and leaning forward. She did that when she was really engrossed in something, and Fiyero feared that hearing her out today would mean going to Oz tomorrow. However, he wasn't one to refuse her something she wanted very often, and he reluctantly agreed.

"Alright, here it is." Elphaba took a deep breath and began, "Remember the first week we were here, and we were wandering around Yellowstone Park with no idea where we were? Of course you do, I knew you would. Well, remember when the Grimmerie appeared in front of us at just the right time to save us from that wild Grizzly Bear? Of course you do, don't shake your head. It scared you and the Bear half to death! Well, there was something I didn't tell you," Fae paused for a breath, and Fiyero hated himself for leaning in with interest, "The Grimmerie wasn't supposed to come to us. I put a spell on it. If something were to happen to Glinda, and the Grimmerie was in danger of falling into the wrong hands, then it would appear in front of us in a big flash of green light so that we wouldn't miss it. The other option was that it would come to us after two years of disuse, but that can't be the case. Now, that means that something has happened to Glinda."

Fiyero was about to object, but Elphaba's eyes flashed and he fell silent under her glare. "We have to go Oz for her sake. I fully realize that it's been almost eight years since then, but if something happened to her, I need to find out what. If… if the worst has happened, I want to pay my respects. If she's in a dungeon somewhere, I plan on getting her back and taking her to a therapist for whatever psychological issues she's facing."

Fiyero looked at her silently, and she held his gaze pleadingly. As much as he hated to admit it, he thought it was a _really_ good reason. However, he still did value Fae's life over all others, no matter how much he cared for Glinda's well-being. "Fae," he began with a sigh, and she leaned in hopefully, "That is the most crack-pot reasoning I've ever heard."

Elphaba's face fell with a heart-breaking and almost audible swiftness. "Fiyero-"

Before she could even form a protest, Fiyero cut her off, "But you know what? I've always been one for crack-pot logic." Fiyero smiled his handsome-prince smile, and Elphaba jumped up and punched her fist in the air with a loud, victorious war call. It was something she had picked up from her skydiving teacher, Amy, and it never failed to make Fiyero smile. In the back of his mind, he felt that he was making a horrible mistake, but he wasn't up for arguing with himself.

"Oh, Fiyero, you are the most dazzling, wonderful, splendiferous husband in the history of Oz!" Elphaba cried uncharacteristically.

"Please don't say that!" Fiyero cried dramatically, "You sound too much like Glinda!"

Both of them fell out laughing, Fae out of happiness, and Fiyero out of the certain conviction that he had gone insane. The laughter didn't last long though, because Elphaba stood up and began walking towards the bedroom. "Come on, Fiyero. We're going now."

Fiyero jumped up in alarm. "What? Now? Are you insane? Wait, don't answer that, I know you are. We can't just go now! We need to pack, to prepare, to get ready, to _eat!_" He listed off the various reasons to delay departure on his fingers as he raced down the frustratingly long hallway towards their bedroom. Elphaba leaned out of the doorway, holding a finger over her lips and waving the Grimmerie in front of his face with the other hand.

"Durability spells and Conjuring spells, darling. I've been practicing," she said warmly, bringing her husband's objections to a sputtering halt. "Now hurry up, love, I'm doing the spell now. You might want to turn off the lights. Don't want that killer electric bill when we get back."

Fiyero could see no other course of action. Now that he had agreed to this, he could see that Elphaba was not going to waste anymore time. Glinda was a lucky friend to have Fae on her side. He muttered angrily to himself as he went through their overly large house turning off lights, and by the time he got back to the bedroom, he had hit himself on several pieces of furniture and was in an even worse mood.

"I know why you're doing this," Fiyero said as Fae chanted out the spell, "You just want to be called Elphie again," He grinned as she flinched, but her speech continued on. "Well, I can do that all the time if you want. Elphie, Elphie, Elphie."

Fae abruptly stopped chanting and slammed the book shut. She leapt off the bed and strode over to him as a green, shimmering light began enveloping them. "I'm ripping out your straw when we get back," she said, grinning ominously, and Fiyero immediately regretted his taunts, "And boy, it's going to huuuuuurt," she finished in a low whistle. Fiyero, in any other situation, might have shuddered, but he was suddenly preoccupied with his stomach's objections to being torn violently from the bedroom, having his skin turn to burlap in a very painful instant, and crash landing in the middle of a very large crowd with a _very_ loud, _very_ noticeable bang.

**Well, that's pretty much it. I've been turning over this idea in my head for awhile. If the fact that Glinda's oh… 826 years old, confusifies you, I sincerely apologize. If I make this into a multi-chapter story, it'll be explained next time via my favorite character, Ozian Guard Number One. Right now, however, I need you to click that little review button down there and tell me if this idea holds any water, because I'm not going to write anymore if the story isn't interesting. Please, help me out here.**


	2. Humble Beginnings

**Wow. Everybody, I'd just like to take this moment to thank you all. I'm genuinely humbled and shocked by all the story alerts, reviews, and favorites that I was greeted with when I checked my email this week. You guys made my day, and probably my month. So, I've got good news and bad news. Good news: A new chapter! Yay! Bad news: I desperately wanted to put Ozian Guard Number One in this chapter, but I couldn't get the flow just right, so I made this chapter into a flashback to explain the 826 years old business.**

**I hope you enjoy this!**

_799 years prior, under the Great Reign of the First Ruler_

"_Do you think this could be managed?" The first ruler asked, rifling his fingers through the latest stacks of blueprints and notes Magician Diligo had placed at his desk. Magician Diligo was a bright young man, but the ideas he came up with as the royal researcher were always either impossible to accomplish or completely useless. This latest invention, however, might be a breakthrough._

_The Magician ran his fingers through his wavy hair, a habit that the first ruler could identify as a sign of nervousness. "It certainly could, Your Ozness, but there are quite a few factors to be considered," he said carefully, not meeting the ruler's eyes, "They aren't really obstacles, just hindrances. After all, our only test subjects so far have been rats. We can't get feedback from them either, since the Animal rights legislation was passed and no Rats will volunteer. We have no idea how painful the process might be, or how it will affect Ozians._

"_Are those the only drawbacks? It's a small price to pay for immortality," The ruler asked curiously. Such an immense reward for so few consequences hardly mattered in the face of how brilliant this accomplishment was._

"_Well, no sir." Another hand-through-hair maneuver._

_The first ruler sat back in his desk chair and sighed. "It's never that simple with you, is it Magician? Very well, what else is there?"_

_Magician Diligo nodded gratefully. At least this time he was being listened to. Usually he and his ideas were cast to the side and ignored. This was progress. "You see, Your Ozness, while the concept of immortality sounds wonderful, it is not to be taken lightly. Great care has to be taken in choosing the first Ozian test subject. As you know, whoever is chosen will live forever if it works. This means that we would have to go into a full psychological investigation of any candidate. This person has to be completely good at heart, and extremely loyal to Oz. They have to be mentally and physically sound so that they are guaranteed to never misuse this gift. Under no circumstances should they consider betraying Oz. Searching for someone like this could take ages, and by the time we finally found them, they might be past the age limit of forty. This is the main problem blocking our advancement. The potion itself works, for sure."_

_The first ruler leaned forward and rubbed his eyes. Here was that "impossible to accomplish" factor that the Magician's experiments always had. After a few minutes of tense, uncomfortable silence, he finally spoke. "The search will be difficult, that is a given. However, as long as the potion works, no matter if it's on rats or Ozians, this is an amazing discovery Diligo. If it works. How can you be so sure if you've only had a couple of months to achieve such a feat?"_

_Diligo immediately relaxed. He sat up straighter and cleared his throat, smiling at the ruler. "Aging spells," he said, waving his arms as if that were all there was to it, "I cast aging spells on the three rats. Not one of them dropped dead, even after five straight minutes of concentrated magic. You see, the potion doesn't just keep up appearances of being young and healthy, it literally stops the aging process, preventing cells from ever deteriorating. That's why we need a test subject who is healthy and young in the first place. That's also the reason for the age limit. Over forty, Ozians' bones begin to deteriorate and we can't be as active as we are in the twenties to thirties range. The diseased and already dead cells would remain in stasis, keeping the subject sick forever. In fact-"_

"_Diligo."_

"_Yes, Your Ozness?"_

"_I don't need a full explanation, as long as I know it works without fail." The first ruler looked as if he was finally about to approve the Magician's plan, but at that moment, they were interrupted by a small knock on the door. _

"_Enter!" he called impatiently. If this was another one of the silly politicians of Emerald wanting the Ruler's endorsement for whatever plan they were onto now, he would _not_ be happy. He had much more pressing business to attend to right now._

"_Your Ozness, I mean no disrespectation, but-" came the familiar trilling voice as the door opened._

"_She's perfect!" The Magician cried, jumping up from his chair and pointing at the small figure of Lady Glinda standing in the doorway._

_Lady Glinda blinked in surprise and smoothed her skirts with a blush. "I'm flattered, Magician Diligo, but right now I need-"_

"_Sweet Oz! Diligo, you're right!" The first ruler cried, jumping up from his chair as well. Lady Glinda blinked again and tilted her head to the side._

"_Your Ozness, again I am flattered, but I need-"_

"_Lady Glinda," Magician Diligo said hurriedly, grabbing the very confused witch's wrist and dragging her across the room and into the chair he had just occupied, "The first ruler and I have a favorable proposition for you! You won't be able to say no!"_

"_Alright, I suppose," Glinda said timidly, looking back and forth between the two grinning men as she rubbed her wrist, "But I really do need-"_

"_Quiet, if you please, Lady Glinda," The ruler said, smiling broadly. "Magician Diligo has something important to talk to you about."_

_-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-  
_

"_Any questions?" Magician Diligo asked cheerfully, still grinning from ear to ear. It had been fun to watch Lady Glinda's eyes get progressively wider as the talk went on, especially when she realized that they were insinuating that _she_ be the Ozian test subject. It was a lot to take in, and Lady Glinda's mind was clearly reeling from all that she had heard._

"_Are those three rats going to be wandering around Oz forever now?" she blurted after a small pause, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. She was not very keen on this idea at all. She had matured a lot more than she had ever wanted to admit that year, and the idea of immortality was not as appealing as it had once been. _

_The first ruler, not sensing the discomfort behind Glinda's words, let out a hearty, boisterous laugh. "Of course! I hadn't thought about that before. Unless they're murdered or eaten, I imagine they'll be skittering around Oz for a good long while!"_

"_So… it's possible to die even after one has taken the potion?" she asked curiously, seeming to relax a little. That relaxing alarmed the first ruler. Did Glinda plan on dying in the future? Diligo, however, remained oblivious._

"_Well, technically, yes," he said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "But it would be very difficult. Didn't I explain this? Or was I thinking of explaining it and just rambling on? Either way, the cells are kept in stasis and perfect health, so you would almost have to be chopped into bits. That's very painful, in case you didn't know!" he finished, chuckling at his own joke._

_Glinda smiled politely and acknowledged him before turning back to the ruler. "Your Ozness," she said quietly, looking him directly in the eyes, "As amazing and as generosified as this offer is, I have to respectfully decline."_

_Both men immediately began sputtering, but Glinda held the ruler's gaze evenly and coolly. This was an intimidating change from her earlier confusion and seeming naiveté. The first ruler turned his gaze away for a second before realizing that doing so would be giving her the advantage and looking straight at her again._

"_Why not, Lady Glinda?" The Magician demanded, blinking away his shock before anything else could be said._

"_I have my reasons, Magician Diligo, and I pray that you should be civil enough to respect them with out question," she said curtly, still holding the ruler's gaze._

_Magician Diligo looked away as if he had been slapped. He had not known Glinda personally for long, but he had attended all her previous speeches, and this was the closest thing to any negative emotion he had ever seen her convey. It was uncomfortably surprising._

_The ruler however, was familiar with Glinda's intimidation techniques, and he knew that if he ignored them long enough, she would turn to other tactics, then eventually give in. "Glinda," he said amiably, dropping the honorific, "Don't you think that we should at least know one of your many reasons? After all, your reasons are preventing the greatest and most beneficial invention in Ozian history from ever advancing beyond its baby steps." Hopefully, this would play to her well-known devotion to Oz's well-being._

"_If I told you my reasons, you would think I had gone mad," she said, returning the friendly smile, "And not only do I not want to appear insane, but I do not want immortality. I would not be a very good role model for Oz if I had an ongoing desire to kill myself five hundred years from now." She tilted her head sweetly, "I wouldn't want to bring such moodifying emotions to the Ozians, would I, Augustine?" If he was going to be rude and drop civil titles, so would she._

_The ruler was shocked by the usage of his real name, and annoyed by Glinda's habit of using Ozian slang in her sentences. Moodifying was _not_ a word. He narrowed his eyes, and for some reason, he was very determined to ensure that she was the first immortality test subject. Even though he was annoyed with her, her stubbornness was a valuable asset that could be used to carry on the Ozian government if Oz were ever without a ruler or a ruler was deemed unfit. Glinda's personality could and would make her rule Oz if she had to, and he got the feeling that she would do it well._

"_Well, Glinda, I'm not sure that your opinion is the only one that matters here," he said slyly, and Glinda looked at him with confusion in her eyes. "What if I asked the Ozians how they felt about having their beloved Lady Glinda around to protect them forever? I'm sure they would be quite amenable to this."_

_Glinda shuddered slightly, a movement magnified by the glittering of her dress. Clearly, this was a better threat than the rule had first thought. But then again, she usually gave in to what Ozians wanted. She had seemed thrown off and even a little afraid of the Ozians ever since the witch-hunts on the night of the Wicked Witch of the West's death. The Ozians had been admittedly savage that night. Maybe Glinda was afraid of the same thing happening to her. Either way, it was an effective coercion tool._

"_The Ozians would understand, I'm sure," she said lightly, but her eyes had lost that spark of self-assuredness. _

"_Lady Glinda, why are you so opposed to this?" Diligo asked, his notably gorgeous eyes pleading with her, "Immortality is something most people long for, and you're turning it down without a moment of hesitation! It boggles my mind, it really does!"_

_Glinda was not about to explain everything to them. They didn't know Elphaba or Fiyero, or at least, not who they really were, and they wouldn't understand how she felt when she thought that she didn't deserve to live forever when both of their lives had been taken prematurely, so she simply smiled the smile she reserved for when she didn't feel like smiling at all. "If it's so great," she said, trying to ignore the feeling of sadness building up in the pit of her stomach, "Then why don't you take the potion yourself, Diligo? I shall remain steadfast in my refusal, and I would appreciate it if this conversation ended. Now." _

_Diligo had been stuttering ever since the start of her sentence, and he cut of the ruler's reply before it started. "Well, you see. I mean, well- it's not that simple. I couldn't possibly, well- could I?" he stammered, turning to the ruler._

"_No," he said flatly, not taking his narrowed eyes off of Glinda, who had been enjoying watching Magician Diligo squirm. "At your wish, Lady Glinda, this conference is officially over. But don't think that this is the last time that this subject will be broached," he said ominously. Glinda didn't doubt his words, but she was nonetheless happy to be free. She got up from her chair with relative ease, considering the sheer size of her dress, nodded politely at the ruler and the flabbergasted Magician, and glided gracefully to the door._

"_And Glinda," the ruler called as an afterthought._

"_Yes?" she trilled, pausing in the doorway and looking back. She was silently praying that he wasn't going to mention about this stupid immortality business._

"_What did you 'really need' in the first place?" he asked curiously. _

_Glinda's eyes widened in panic for a split second before she began giggling. "A very flustered Winkie ambassador arrived by and express Pfenix, demanding to see you," she said through a peal of laughter, "The business was classified, apparently even for Glinda the Good, so I assume it was important. I told him I would bring you down immediately, and he only let me go after several assurances that you would be with him in no more than five minutes. That was, oh, about an hour ago I'd say, with that long explanation from Magician Diligo-" she paused to motion in the blushing Magician's direction before giggling again, "I'd get on that if I were you, Your Ozness!" Before the two men could say a word, she had swept out of the room with a flourish._

"_That was amazing," Diligo breathed, earning himself a glare from the first ruler, but it went unnoticed by the Magician, "I never thought I'd see the day when His Ozness would lose an argument. And yet, that vertically challenged woman just won. By a long shot!"_

"_Quiet, Magician!" The ruler snapped as he stood up, "I'm in a hurry to meet with a very important Winkie! Needle Lady Glinda about the potion for me, will you?" And with that, he was rushing out the room as well. The Magician stood there in shock, grinning like a fool. The two most powerful and influential figures in all of Oz had just been in the coolest argument he had ever been witness to! Who in the world argues about whether or not to be immortal? And, to top it all off, the characteristically ditzy one had come out victorious…_

"_I love Oz," he muttered under his breath as he began gathering his notes together._

_-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-  
_

_A few months later, the only sign that the immortality potion had ever existed were Magician Diligo's not-so-subtle hints, and an occasional meaningful glance from the first ruler. Glinda was finally able to relax and let herself live a little. However, the universe was quick to remind her that relaxing was definitely out of the question._

_It was Laurus Day, the second Laurus Day ever, and Glinda was in a terrible mood. All day long, she had been wandering around the castle in a huff, servants fleeing the scene after she had blown up at the first unwitting servant. No one could understand why Miss Glinda would be so angry on such a happy occasion, but several people now knew to fear her in this state. A few hours before her speech, she stomped past the ruler's office, trying to escape the sounds of crowds cheering in the distance. It sickened her, and she just wanted to get away._

"_Lady Glinda," came the ruler's voice from the other side of the door. Apparently the furious clacking of her heels had become quite familiar today, and that only made her more angry._

"_Yes?" she snapped bitterly as the door opened, revealing a blinking First Ruler with no one else but Magician Diligo at his side. He was about to smile at her, but the scowl etched on her face quickly forced him to back off. _

"_I just wanted to be sure that there was no way you would ever consider taking the potion…" he said, trailing off as he received her murderous glare._

"_You know what?" she said, attempting a civil voice and failing, her anger shining through. "There is no way I'm ever taking that potion. Find someone else to do it, because I can assure you that I am the least deserving person in all of Oz for this 'honor'. You may not believe but it's true!" The ruler shook his head disbelievingly._

"_That's exactly why we want you, Lady Glinda. Why would we choose somebody who wanted immortality? That's the first sign of a cold heart!" The Magician piped up, raising his hands in a defensive position, just in case._

_Glinda stood there, her tiny frame shaking with anger she couldn't describe. "I. Don't. Want. It." she said through gritted teeth, "There is no way I can live forever when Elpha-" she paused, her sentence stopped in the middle of her objection. _

"_What was that, Lady Glinda?" The ruler said suspiciously._

"_It's… nothing," she said, looking down at her feet. She was shaking again, but she was suddenly not angry at all. In fact, she was very sad._

I'm crying,_ she realized, mortified to be crying in front of these particular two men._

"_Lady Glinda," Diligo said worriedly, holding out his arms in concern, "What's the matter?" Glinda was tempted to tell them everything. To rush into _someone's_ arms and get a genuine hug. She hadn't been hugged since the night of Elphaba's death, and she was feeling very abandoned. But of course, she couldn't. Nothing good would come from that conversation._

"_Nothing, I said," she squeaked, her voice cracking, "I'll see you at the speech. It's always a pleasure to talk to you both," she curtsied, tears falling to the floor as she walked off._

_The two men exchanged a look. "Women," the ruler said, and Diligo nodded emphatically._

_Lady Glinda disappeared for a few hours, and even though the servants had searched the whole palace, she was remarkably elusive. It looked as if she wouldn't reappear in time for the speech -or all day, for that matter- but just a few minutes before she was due to make her Laurus Day Address, she was found just outside the doors to the balcony. Nobody knew exactly how she got there, but everyone was simply happy to find her well and in a better mood. The ruler and Diligo were there a minute later, predictably, trying to convince her to take the potion._

_The Magician noticed something off about Glinda, but he couldn't really place it. Her eyes were shining as if she were crying, but she was smiling happily, her eyes weren't red and puffy, and her eyes weren't watering at all. It was really peculiar, and he was burning with curiosity. He wanted to know exactly what was wrong, and why Laurus Day put her in such a bad mood, and how she managed to cry and not cry at the same time._

_The Ruler noticed as well, but he was not as interested. He simply wanted a guarantee that someone would always be there for Oz. He wanted to make sure that the land he loved would always have someone to watch over it, whether that person was willing to or not. Maybe Glinda and Diligo had forgotten about his threat to leave the decision up to the Ozians, but he certainly hadn't, and now it seemed as if Lady Glinda would never cave in willingly. Some personal demon was holding her back._

"_Your Goodness, Your Ozness, it's time to begin!" A servant called from down the hallway as he pushed open the glass doors. The muted din of the crowd became a thunderous roar with the opening of the doors, and the ruler and Glinda exchanged glances. Diligo stepped back and Glinda held her chin higher and nodded, almost imperceptibly. The Ruler held out his arm, and she linked her arm with his as they marched out onto the balcony._

_The night lights of the Emerald City were always dazzling, but tonight, the sky was so lit with such a variety of color that Lady Glinda had to pause and suck in her breath. If she hadn't known better, she might have guessed that it was daylight. Brilliant sapphire lanterns mixed in with vibrant topaz clothing and ruby decorations were scattered around, blending in with the usual stunning emerald colors everywhere. It was an amalgamation of every different color she could imagine, and for a second, she was lost in the beauty of it all. Then, she remembered why it was there._

_The ruler disentangled himself from the sudden death grip Lady Glinda had on his arm and stepped forward. He raised his hands to stop the cheering of the crowd and smiled winningly. "My dear Ozians," he said in an different version of Lady Glinda's usual greeting, "Tonight is the second celebration of the Wicked Witch's death, and Lady Glinda and I couldn't be happier!" Everyone flinched simultaneously at the mention of the Wicked Witch, so Lady Glinda's flinch was expected, even though it was for a different reason._

"_Today marks a day of great change for Oz," he said cryptically, still smiling, "Ever since the tragic departure of our dear Wizard, the palace officials and I have been striving nonstop to reach a new level of excellence! Such hard work has finally paid off!" The crowd cheered wildly when he paused, although it was obvious that no one knew what was going on. Only the Ruler seemed to know what he was doing._

"_Tonight is the unveiling of the royal researcher's latest invention! You've all heard rumors of such a thing since before our grandparents' grandparents were born, and now those rumors are verified! Our very own Magician Diligo has created an immortality potion!" The crowd cheered genuinely this time. The Ruler was right, there had always been rumors for as long as anyone could remember, but now there was actual proof. Actual evidence to be presented before their very eyes. Everyone wondered individually who would be given the immense honor of its privileges first. Lady Glinda, however, knew with a sickening certainty where this speech was going, and what was going to happen. If there were ever a more low-down, dirty tactic…_

"_Now, you may be wondering to yourselves, 'Who is allowed to test it?' Well, I have your answer. After much deliberation, and a long period of searching, Magician Diligo and I have settled on someone who is above all reproach, someone who no one would question as being worthy-" The crowd started murmuring speculatively, and several eyes flickered to the glittering figure standing behind the ruler, "Someone that our dear departed Wizard anointed as being wise beyond her years," More glances, and some people started grinning. Lady Glinda's heart leaped into her throat. "Someone very near and dear to all our hearts, our beloved Lady Glinda!"_

_The crowd went wild, and Lady Glinda willed her feet to step forward, to acknowledge the Ruler's 'gift.' Tears were streaming down her face as she stood next to the Ruler. Thank goodness for the high balcony. The Ruler held out a small, glowing blue bottle that shimmered brightly, even from the back of the crowd. He turned to her and beamed, his smile only faltering slightly when he saw her face. He held up his free hand to the crowd and offered the other to Lady Glinda. _

"_What say you? Lady Glinda?" He asked with a dramatic flourish, making sure everyone was aware of how important this moment was._

"_I couldn't, I couldn't possibly," she said hoarsely, and the Ruler realized that he hadn't heard Lady Glinda speak since she had blown up at him in the corridor. Otherwise, he would've recognized the distress she was in._

"_Come on, Lady Glinda! You have to!"_

"_Please, do! Lady Glinda, we love you!"_

"_Do it, Lady Glinda!"_

_The crowd cheered wildly, and the enormous pressure did not go unnoticed by Lady Glinda. She gulped. "If… If that's really… Do I… If that's what you all really want," she bowed her head humbly, already knowing what was going to happen to her. She could never stand up to the Ozians by herself. She had needed Elphaba for that._

"_We do! We do!"_

"_Oh, we love you Lady Glinda!" _

"_You must!"_

"_I suppose, then, that my mind has been made up for me," she said, attempting to let cheeriness into her voice. Only the Ruler caught the double meaning intended for him. They gulped at the same time. She hesitantly took the bottle from his hands, and before she could look up at him and give it back, he stepped back to where Magician Diligo was standing. _

"_Make it showy," he whispered to the Magician as Lady Glinda stood alone in the face of her audience. "When she drinks it, make it showy." Diligo nodded slowly as the small woman in front of them opened the bottle with an audible 'pop'._

_Only the officials on the balcony heard the deep sigh she heaved before downing half the potion. The Magician, taking showy to the extreme, took his cue. Bright blue flame exploded from her body, filling half the balcony and blinding everybody except the Magician, who had thought to close his eyes. Naturally, the flame didn't affect Lady Glinda in a harmful way. In fact, he insured that she felt nothing at all. After a few seconds, the flame subsided and Lady Glinda stood on the balcony, wobbling uncertainly._

"_Lady Glinda," The Ruler said worriedly as he rushed up to catch her. She collapsed in his arms and the crowd gasped, horrified. "Lady Glinda! Are you alright?" He asked, shaking her violently. She looked up at him, her eyes blank. _

"_I don't… feel a thing," she said faintly, before falling silent and staring blankly._

"_Diligo, get her out of here!" The Ruler hissed, and the Magician quickly obliged as the First Ruler stood up and began to reassure the Ozians._

_-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-  
_

_For fifty years, Lady Glinda remained silent. She didn't speak, and she didn't acknowledge anyone who spoke to her. She was well maintained at all times, taken care of by at least five palace servants at all times. She was a living statue. Eventually, people began to accept her condition as part of who she was. She remained untouched by the fifty years that aged everyone else, but no other immortality potions were ever made again. The only remaining liquid remained contained in the little blue bottle, which remained clenched in Lady Glinda's hand. Nobody could pry it out, nor did anyone want to. However, Lady Glinda remained loved. She was still present at every speech, every essential meeting, every amazing breakthrough. She simply didn't speak. _

_The first ruler stepped down from his position two years after the incident. The second ruler reinstated a few Animal Banns, but Animals retained many of their original rights. He stepped down after a ten year reign. The third ruler was female, and she instated a protection policy around Lady Glinda after someone tried to kidnap her. It seemed that the Lady went to whoever called her without question, so she was constantly guarded. The third ruler died in office after a twenty year rule. The fourth ruler ruled for fifteen years. He ordered all history books containing information about the Wicked Witch of the West burned, and no more books about her were to be printed. He did not want her to be remembered, in a good way, bad way, or anyway at all. He had apparently had a close family member that was deeply affected by her reign of terror.  
_

_During all this time, Lady Glinda had developed a reputation for herself. Every time she appeared in public it seemed, minor miracles happened around her. People claimed it was her spirit fighting the spell and continuing to protect the Ozians against all dangers. Whether this was true or not remains unknown, but the miracles always happened around her, and they were too numerous to be marked off as coincidence._

_One day, during the middle of a speech announcing new legislation, in the time of the fifth ruler's reign, Lady Glinda, who had been standing in the back silently, blinked a couple of times, looked around, then looked up at one of the surly guards surrounding her. They were all facing away from her, so they did not notice._

_During a dramatic pause in the fifth ruler's speech, Lady Glinda tugged on a guard's sleeve. "Who are you?" she asked quietly, but her voice rang loud enough for the balcony-goers to hear. Heads whipped around, including the fifth's, and he immediately spoke. _

"_Who said that?" he said, looking accusingly among the guards. The guards stepped away to reveal a certain Lady Glinda, hands on her hips and her head tilted._

"_I did. I'm Lady Glinda," she said pleasantly, and the fifth had stepped close enough that the crowd could hear her through his microphone. "Who are you? And why are we on the balcony?"_

_Half the ladies in the crowd fainted, and many men cheered wildly. The astounded Ozians listened in awe as the Lady Glinda spoke to the astounded fifth ruler as if she were having a regular conversation with a close friend. He dragged her to the podium, introduced her, then let her read the rest of the speech. She never missed a speech since, but that day went down in history as the "Miracle of Miracles". Lady Glinda couldn't recall anything that had happened during her 'sleep', and it took her another fifty years before she found out. Nevertheless, nobody ever wanted to pay that price for immortality. People who desired it were not guaranteed someone to take care of them for the fifty year grace period. Lady Glinda remained the first and only immortal in the land of Oz. _

**And that marks the end of this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. Since this chapter was all Glinda, I think it only fair that next time you will find out what exactly happened with Elphaba and Fiyero. I hope this clears up all the questions you might have had. Tell me if it didn't, and I'll probably edit this chapter to include it. Unless it's a weird question.**

**Review please! I'd like your input, and your reviews made me feel really good inside**!


	3. Outward Manifestations

**Hello again everyone! I'd like to start out by apologizing for my absence. I had an issue with my schedule, but as of yesterday, it's been cleared up, so I should be able to start updating more often. I'd also like to thank all of you who reviewed or favorited this story. You kept me from forgetting about it.**

Elphaba and Fiyero stood frozen as the crowd around them quickly separated, coughing and shielding their eyes from the brilliant flash of green light. Dead silence had fallen among the crowd that had previously been bustling with conversation about Lady Glinda's speech. Now all their attention was focused on the appearance of the two strange creatures in their midst. Elphaba braced herself for the moment when they would realize who she was. At least she had a few seconds of shocked silence to prepare herself. She could die with relative dignity, considering the circumstances. How quickly things had gone downhill…

She hated it when her husband was right.

Surprisingly, the mob of people did not rush forward. They did not immediately try to destroy _the_ Wicked Witch of the West. They just stood there, peering at the couple with wide eyes and complete silence. Elphaba flicked her eyes back and forth across the crowd, surveying them all before looking down at herself. She was still dressed in her black tank top and pajama pants, with her pair of white, fluffy kitten slippers that she affectionately referred to as the "Fluffles Twins". She was certainly not dressed in the stereotypical Witch outfit, but she would have thought that her newly-returned verdigris would have sparked some recognition.

The silence was growing heavier by the second, and the Ozians began to wonder if the strange people that had appeared in their midst were actually going to say something. However, before either group had recovered from their shock enough to respond, one little girl named Alynnia stepped forward to initiate the conversation herself. Alynnia was two years old, with the tan skin of the Vinkus people and sparkling green eyes. She stepped forward shyly, her thumb in her mouth and her eyes shimmering with recognition.

"Lynny, no!" her mother hissed as her child toddled up to the stunned green witch, but it was too late to do anything.

"Elphie?" The child asked sweetly, offering her small hand to the green girl. Elphaba was shocked. Before she could stop herself, she took the little girl's hand, shaking it politely. This child reminded Elphaba of Glinda for some reason, and she couldn't help but smile. Perhaps it was because Glinda was the only one who had ever called her Elphie. The only thing that kept Elphaba on alert was the fact that this little Vinkus child, a child that Elphaba had never met, not only recognized her for who she was, but knew that wretched nickname. Why weren't the Ozians in the immediate vicinity already in the process of tying her to a stake and burning her?

The girl smiled winningly, turning to her mother and holding up Elphaba's hand. Elphaba could feel every eye in the crowd focused on her, and it made her very uncomfortable. Once Alynnia had identified the stranger, however, the Ozians in question immediately closed in, smiling warmly and eagerly greeting Lady Glinda's close friend. Never mind that Lady Glinda had said Elphie had died 800 years prior; clearly she was mistaken, and now the Vinkus people had something in common with their Lady. Elphaba however, was none too happy to be pushed around. She was used to celebrity, but not this kind, and this situation frightened her.

"That's a mighty fine skin color ya got there, Elphie!"

"Elphie, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with the Lady Glinda?"

"Oh Elphie, we've heard so much about you! Lady Glinda will be thrilled to see you again!"

Through the cacophony of excited voices, Elphaba could hear Fiyero calling for her, and ice pierced her heart when she realized that he had been separated from her. She was his wife, and he was her only lifeline, the only familiar face in this bizarre nightmare. She began pushing the Ozians back, struggling past the confused citizens and towards his voice. People she passed touched her arms and face as she went, angering her and making her claustrophobic. Just what had Glinda done? Why had everything changed? Elphaba had made Glinda promise not to try to clear her name. Clearly she had, and now Elphaba was dealing with the unfortunate results of Glinda's success.

"Fiyero? Fiyero, where are you?" she yelled, a note of desperation creeping into her voice. Unfortunately, her voice was lost in the crowd. She had been expecting immediate death when she landed in this huge mob, and when that didn't happen, she had been thrown into a momentary state of shock. Now, she was fully alert again, and she didn't like this situation. At all. The crowd just kept pressing in, their voices ringing in her ears. Fiyero was nowhere in sight, and the voices kept ringing. She could feel pent-up fear and anger building in her stomach, and the voices kept ringing.

"Everybody, just _stop_!" she shouted, clapping her hands to her ears and clenching her eyes shut. Abruptly, there was silence. She stood shaking in the silence for a moment before that familiar voice broke through the peace.

"Fae?" Fiyero's voice echoed across the room, and Elphaba realized with a jolt that they were not actually outside, as she had previously thought. Her eyes flew open and her arms fell slowly to her sides as she looked around. Every single member of the crowd was frozen in place, not moving or breathing. They didn't appear shocked, and none of their eyes were focused directly on her. Elphaba had literally frozen them in time.

"Fae?" Fiyero repeated worriedly, and Elphaba spotted his movement through the crowd. She rushed toward him, meeting him halfway. She grabbed his head with her hands and kissed him fiercely, ignoring his grunt of surprise.

"I love you, Yero," she said as soon as they broke apart, "But if you ever leave me like that again, even for a moment, I will kill you!"

"Love you too, Fae," Fiyero said, still bewildered by her actions. Unable to meet her eyes when they were flashing dangerously like that, he looked around at the crowd and chuckled. "Just like Shiz," he said fondly. "That day with the Lion Cub? How come I'm the only one these spells don't affect?"

"Don't be so self-centered," Elphaba said, smiling up at him, "They don't affect Glinda either. I love you both too dearly."

"So that's it? Love? How corny," Fiyero said, grinning. Then, as he looked at their surroundings, his face fell. "But Fae, where are we? This room doesn't look familiar."

Ripping her eyes away from Fiyero's straw face, Elphaba took a close look around the room. The roof of the great hall they were in was completely gone, and the sun shone brightly overhead in a cloudless sky. All furniture was removed from the room, obviously making space for the large crowd. At what Elphaba assumed was the front of the room, there was a wooden stage, and in the middle of it, there was a gigantic, brilliantly reflective mirror. It reminded her of the televisions they had back in America, but she knew that Ozians relied on magic, not technology.

Fiyero was right, this room definitely did not seem familiar, but the crumbling stone walls immediately identified the place that Elphaba had called home for two years. "This is Kiamo Ko," she said wonderingly. "My spell worked, but… what happened to this place? And why are there people here?"

"Beats me, Fae," Fiyero said, shrugging, "I would've thought that, because of your reputation, nobody would want to come here, but after the reception you just got from these people," he paused briefly to motion at the living statues, "I don't know _what_ to think anymore!"

Elphaba looked at the crowd. "Why are they all wearing yellow?" She asked, thinking out loud, "They look like fluffy, Galinda-fied cream puffs."

"I don't know," Fiyero shrugged, "It looks like a celebration of some sort. Who knows what could be happening here?"

Elphaba nodded thoughtfully, a worried look on her face, "Yes, well. Frankly, these people frighten me. Not because they're friendly to me or anything, but because they recognize me and _don't_ want to kill me. Let's get out of this room and away from them. I don't know how long this spell is going to last, and I want to find out more about what's going on."

"Fae, even if they don't want to kill you, don't you think it's dangerous to just flounce about like you own the world? I mean, you don't dress like the Wicked Witch anymore, but judging from these people's attire, our pajamas aren't exactly fashionable. Not to mention our physical characteristics."

"Fiyero, if push comes to shove, I can cast another spell like this one. I don't think we'll be killed."

Without waiting for a reply, she grabbed Fiyero's wrist and dragged him towards the great oak doors, which had not changed a bit in eight years. She pushed one of them open with one hand and stalked outside. However, what she saw made both her and Fiyero gasp.

Surrounding the castle, there was a city. Not a town, with a few cottages and a farm here and there, but a full blown city. It almost rivaled the Emerald City in its size and magnificence, but it appeared to be slightly smaller and of a more bright yellow, topaz color. Roads stretched off into the distance, and buildings lined them for as far as Elphaba could see. It appeared that Kiamo Ko castle was at the very heart of this city, but she would have to walk the length of the castle to be sure.

"No way," Elphaba breathed, and she turned to Fiyero, who had a similar reaction. "Fiyero, I don't think we're in Oz anymore. What happened to your Vinkus, my Arjiki Prince?"

"Like I'm supposed to know?" Fiyero said, not taking his eyes off of the wonderful city around them. "I thought my people were hunters of the plains, not civilized urbanites… How could civilization creep in so fast when just eight years ago, Kiamo Ko was the only thing standing here?"

Looking back at the castle from the outside, Elphaba thought of how tragically pitiful it looked in comparison with the shining brilliance of the Topaz City. She used to be awed by the size of the castle, but it suddenly seemed small and tired. The grey stones were laced with cracks, and it looked as if it would come crashing down at any moment. As she looked over it, her eyes rested on a sign hanging just above the great doors.

_Kiamo Ko Memorial Town Hall: Today is Lady Glinda's 800__th__ annual Laurus Day speech! Come join the celebration!_

"Fiyero!" she hissed, elbowing him in the side. As he turned around, she pointed at the sign. "What is wrong with that sign? Hmm? Anything seem out of place?"

"Well, it says that this is Glinda's 800th _annual_ Laurus Day speech, but that must be a typo," he said, unimpressed, "Not only would that make her 826 years old, but this is only the 8th celebration of Laurus Day."

Elphaba relaxed slightly, but she still eyed the sign suspiciously, "What exactly is Laurus Day?" she asked.

Fiyero frowned slightly. "Well, it's the… It's the holiday that celebrates your death. The Wizard announced that the day of your death would be called Laurus Day, only hours before I came back to get you," He looked at her face, which was an impenetrable mask of neutrality. "What an odd name for a celebration, right? It sounds dramatic for Earth-goers, but at the time I thought it sounded silly…"

Elphaba did not seem as disturbed by this fact as Fiyero had expected, but she still frowned. "So, if it's the celebration of my death, why was that crowd happy to see me? People should still know who I am if there's a celebration in my honor."

"Good point," he admitted, glad that he wasn't facing Elphaba's fiery wrath, "But what other explanation do you have?"

"Well, none," she said noncommittally, "However, that can be easily fixed. Judging from the size of this city, the people I froze in there aren't the only people here. If we keep walking, we should be able to find someone somewhere who knows what year it is."

"I can't believe you're making this big a deal over a typo on a sign, Fae." Fiyero said, but his remark fell on deaf ears. Elphaba merely quirked an eyebrow at him and started walking down the road. Fiyero had no choice but to follow.

Sure enough, within five minutes of wandering around on the yellow cobblestones and dodging a couple of yellow coaches dragged along by yellow Horses, they spotted a couple of girls in fluffy yellow dresses walking along the sidewalk and giggling. Without a moment of hesitation, Elphaba strode up to them confidently, kitty slippers and all.

The two girls eyed her uncertainly, examining her attire with looks of pity. "Oh you poor dear!" One of the girls said, clapping one hand to her face, "Do you need anything? Of course we'll give you some money!"

Elphaba's eyes narrowed slightly as the two girls exclaimed over her, but she kept herself remarkably cool. "No, no thanks, I couldn't take your money," she said politely, "But I seem to have lost my bearings. I'm, uh… so hungry, you see, that I seem to have forgotten the date. Could you please… you know, tell me what year this is?"

The girls nodded fiercely, happy to help the poor green homeless girl in any way they could. "It's the year 1257, in the month of Celebration, and it just so happens to be Laurus Day!" They said in perfect unison. They then looked at each other, giggling. "Get out of my head!" They said again, in unison, "Stop it!" Unison again. Elphaba started to get a little alarmed. She backed away slowly, creeping towards Fiyero as the girls continued to squabble in unison.

"Well, what did they say?" Fiyero asked curiously, bringing Elphaba back from her observation of the strange girls. As Elphaba processed what she had been told, her eyes widened.

"Fiyero, in Oz. What year was I born?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"431, one year younger than me. What's this about Fae? What did they say?"

"They said it's 1257, Fiyero. Eight hundred years from my 26th birthday. Eight hundred years from the day we left Oz."

"No… No, they must be delirious-" Fiyero stuttered.

"Entirely possible," Elphaba muttered under her breath, but she knew that they must be right.

"No, it can't be true. We've only been gone eight years." He said, trying to convince himself.

"Eight years in another _world_, dearest. How could we know what's been going on here?"

"They could be lying to you. They may think you're a crazy homeless girl."

"Don't be ridiculous, Yero."

"As fierce and as serious as you look in your kitten slippers, I'm sure some people aren't above deception."

"Yero, they're innocent Ozian socialites. They're practically schoolgirls. They offered me money. I don't think they'd lie."

"Yes, well… How is Glinda still alive then?"

That was a good point. If it truly had been 800 years, how was Glinda still alive? And furthermore, when had they started calling her Lady Glinda, instead of Glinda the Good? There were so many things wrong with their situation that it made Elphaba's head hurt.

"Well, we could always visit her in the Emerald City and find out. Or whoever this Glinda person is. Maybe it's a different Glinda," Elphaba said, rubbing her temples. She was fighting the temptation to return to America this instant, but she knew she wouldn't be able to rest easy until she found out what was really going on with Glinda and all of Oz.

"Yes, I suppose that would be the best course of action," Fiyero said, but Elphaba could see he was hesitant. "We obviously don't run the risk of being murdered anymore. Now we're just a scarecrow and a green girl. Nothing special…"

"You're always special to me, Yero," Elphaba said. She spoke the truth, but she also wanted Fiyero to go along with her plan. She could plainly see that he just wanted to go back to America, but she couldn't let either of them do that just yet. She needed to know what was going on, and she needed to know soon.

"What would we gain from going to see her, Fae?" He said, locking eyes with her. "It's been 800 years. She's either forgotten us-" Fiyero broke off for a moment, shocked into silence by Elphaba's sudden and fierce glare, "Okay, maybe not forgotten us, but can you imagine how she would feel? Both of us broke her heart, and in two of the worst ways a heart can be broken. We can't just waltz back in there 800 years later and expect her to be completely rational and happy to see us. We need to approach this very carefully and think about what's best for everybody, not just what you want to do."

"I hate it when you're rational."

"I know."

"A lot."

"I know."

Elphaba sighed deeply, looking up at him. As much as she did not want to admit that he was right, he had brought up some points that really needed to be considered before they tried to talk with Glinda. Knowing Glinda, she wasn't going to be easy to reason with.

"Well, there's always time to think about that on the way to the Emerald City. It takes two days to get there by broom from here… I just want to get started now." She reached up and put her palm on his face, feeling the coarse straw underneath her palm. "You understand, right?"

"Of course I do. We can get going now, if that's what you really want, but I am _not_ riding on a broom. Not only is there not one in sight, but it looks extremely dangerous. I hate heights, you know that. One person is more than enough." He said, but he was smiling.

Elphaba grinned wickedly. "Oh come on, Yero!" she said, a little bit too cheerfully, "It's not that bad! What's wrong with flying a thousand feet in the air? We'll get there soon enough… That is, if we don't fall off."

"You're not helping this any, Fae!" he said, his voice cracking on the last syllable. "Let's just take a coach! There are plenty around here!"

"Yes, but how many would take two hobos with no money all the way to the Emerald City? Face it, love, there's no other option besides broom. If you just withstand it for two days, I'll love you forever!"

Fiyero drew back, insulted. "I thought you loved me forever anyway. Besides, do you have a broom?"

Elphaba threw her hands up in the air dramatically. "Well! Do you have any confidence in me, or what? I have conjuring spells for that! All we have to do is get out of this yellow city and then we can get going."

"Topaz City," Fiyero corrected as Elphaba turned on her heel and starting walking down the road again.

"What?" She asked, pausing as Fiyero jogged to catch up.

"Well, look around you. Not only is this city as yellow as Emerald is green, but all the stores have Topaz in the name. 'Topaz Boutique', 'Topaz Café'? It's endless topaz. I'm just using the common sense you seem to be lacking."

Looking around, Elphaba realized he was right. It was almost exactly like Emerald, only yellow. Everyone was dressed in yellow, and they even had yellow glasses. It seemed as if Elphaba, Fiyero, and Kiamo Ko were the only things in the city that weren't a shade of yellow.

"I'm perfectly sensible right now," she said, waving away the rest of his statement, "I'm just ready to get going now; I have no time for observations." Fiyero sighed in frustration, falling silent and glaring mock-daggers at her as they continued.

Eventually, they reached the city limits, and the difference between city and wilderness was surprisingly drastic. The last line of buildings was a straight line, and the roads ended in a cutoff. Right up against that line, endless grass plains began and stretched on into the horizon, and blue mountains stood tall in the distance. Elphaba and Fiyero exchanged a startled glance before ducking away from the road and behind one of the buildings.

"Oh my god, Fiyero," Elphaba said suddenly, leaning against the wall and slapping her forehead.

"What? What is it?" Fiyero said, alarmed.

"I don't have the Grimmerie! I wasn't touching it when we teleported, I was too busy scolding you for calling me that wretched nickname. I don't have my spells!"

The fabric on Fiyero's face visibly turned a shade of off-white, "That's kind of important, Fae! How are we supposed to get things done? Do you have any of them memorized?"

Elphaba's hands remained on her face as she looked up at Fiyero. She spread her fingers so that she could see him, and Fiyero could see the annoyance in her eyes. "Of course I have some memorized! Just… not the particular ones we need. Well, that's a lie, I have all of them partially memorized. But mispronouncing a word could lead to some serious disasters. I don't have to tell you that…" she trailed off, motioning at his body. It was painful seeing him like this again. It reminded her too much of her last hours in Oz.

"Well, Elphaba, can you try? I mean, being stuck here isn't exactly a disaster, but I would love to get home sometime in the next fifty years."

"Of course I can Fiyero, but be realistic. We could be stuck here for a _hundred_ years, and judging from the time difference, we'd only be gone a year in America." She blanched as she caught Fiyero's glare, "Yes, yes, I get your point," she said, holding her hands up innocently.

"Well?" he said expectantly, folding his arms, "If you expect to get to Emerald any time soon, you had better get going!"

Elphaba was about to come up with a snappy retort, but a picture of Glinda crying in their last minutes together flashed in her mind. She sat down on the ground, crossed her legs, and started chanting.

Fiyero stood there impatiently for a minute as she murmured under her breath. He tapped his foot and looked around for people who might see them. No one in sight. He was just about to interrupt her when her chanting broke off and she cracked an eye open.

"A broom should be along shortly," she grinned, going back to her chanting immediately. Fiyero was left to wait. _Again._ He didn't even know what spell she was doing this time.

Halfway through Elphaba's next spell, a large stick came careening around the corner. It would have gladly ripped through Fiyero's fabric if he hadn't thrown his hands in front of his face and caught it in time. It ripped his index finger anyway, but at least he wasn't scattered across the ground.

On close inspection, the large stick turned out to be a vacuum. Not a broom, not even a mop, but a vacuum. Fiyero hadn't even known that Oz had them. However, it had no cords, so it was probably magicked in the first place. He could not wait until Elphaba was done so that he could rub this in her face.

As she finished her spell, the vacuum lifted itself out of Fiyero's hands and floated at his chest. Elphaba stood up and cracked her knuckles, smiling and opening her eyes. The smile was abruptly wiped off her face as she spotted the vacuum and the look on Fiyero's face.

"So it's not a broom," she said, not meeting Fiyero's eyes, "It still works just as well. Of course Oz has evolved in 800 years. Why wouldn't they have vacuums?" Her last sentence was shaky, traveling up an octave. She took the vacuum in her hands and looped a leg over smoothly. Elphaba turned back and arched a single eyebrow at Fiyero, daring him to mock her.

"Are you coming?" she asked with a smirk, "Or are you too afraid, Mr. Scarecrow?"

Without a word, Fiyero sat himself on the vacuum, settling in behind Elphaba. "I may not trust you in the driver's seat," he said, mustering up as much grace as he could, "But I'm going to assume you're an expert at this. Keep me safe, dearest."

Elphaba smiled again, but this time, Fiyero did not trust the sentiment behind it. "Safe is a relative term, _dearest,_" she said loftily.

"Now, Elphaba-" Fiyero started, but before he could protest, Elphaba kicked off, launching them high into the air. Wind rushed through his hair, and Elphaba's hair was ripped out of her loose bun, whipping him in the face. It didn't hurt of course, and Fiyero was grateful that is was blinding him from the ground below. It just felt odd, because he had not been made of fabric for eight years and every sensation startled him.

"Isn't this great, Fiyero?" Elphaba screamed over the shrieking of the wind, "We get to see Glinda again!" It was hard to ignore the note of joy in her voice as they flew into the brilliant light of the sun.

"Great, yes," Fiyero shouted uncertainly. Was it possible for scarecrows to throw up?

**And that brings this chapter to a close. I can certainly promise that I will be updating more often, and in light of a friend's advice, I promise that I will reply to every review left on the reviews page. Thank you for reading and sticking with me.**


	4. Moral Ambiguities

**Hello again. I noticed that I haven't said this yet, so now is as good a place as any: I don't own Wicked. All these characters belong to Stephen Schwartz, Winnie Holzman, and Gregory Maguire. I'm merely borrowing the ideas that have given me so much inspiration.**

**Chapter 4- Moral Ambiguities**

Even after a long flight to sort out her feelings and plans, Elphaba still had some reservations about actually _entering_ the Emerald City itself. She simply couldn't wrap her mind around the idea of time warping so drastically between her two worlds. No matter what type of magic she was used to, everything seemed so surreal when time travel was thrown into the equation. To her, this city posed the same threats it had eight hundred years earlier. After many years of treating it as the headquarters of all things evil, her muscles had refused to relax after the Emerald City had come into view.

When Elphaba and her temporarily-unconscious husband got within five miles of the city itself, she touched down in a field and shook Fiyero awake. Even if the Wicked Witch of the West was truly forgotten, there was no sense in drawing unnecessary attention to themselves by flying over the city. Especially if they wanted to get far enough into the city to see this 'Lady Glinda' before being taken down by whatever passed for the Gale Force these days.

"Fiyero," she said, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him roughly, "Time to wake up, _dearest!_" She was answered with only a moan. How he had managed to fall asleep in an environment he supposedly hated more than anything else, she would never know. Unless, of course, he had lied about his fear to escape going skydiving with her and Amy.

She shook his shoulders harder until he finally woke up. When he did, his eyes flew open and he jumped nearly a foot in the air, jumping up rapidly and clutching his neck. "That hurt," he hissed vehemently, "Don't do that Fae!"

"I thought you couldn't feel pain, Mr. Scarecrow," she said archly, a hint of curiosity seeping into her voice. She rose to her feet as she picked up the bulky vacuum and leaned on it, waiting for her answer.

"Well, I can feel pain that my own fabric inflicts on me," Fiyero explained wearily, stretching his arms out.

"So how did I hurt you? In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not your fabric."

"I chafed."

Elphaba paused, staring at Fiyero with a blank expression. Her mouth moved soundlessly as she mouthed the word "chafed" repeatedly. Before Fiyero could ask his love what the problem was however, she burst out laughing. Loud, boisterous laughter. Laughter that increased in intensity as she doubled over.

"I missed O-Oz!" she stammered between peals of laughter.

"I know," Fiyero mumbled gruffly. He _did_ know how much Elphaba had missed Oz, and he knew she probably needed something to help her lighten up, but that did not change the fact that he did not appreciate being laughed at. "Why did you wake me up Fae?" he asked as he looked at their surroundings. He was desperate for a change of subject; Elphaba's laughter was beginning to wear out his patience.

Elphaba blinked and abruptly stopped laughing. "As much as I was enjoying our flight," she said soberly, "We're about five miles out from the Emerald City, and I figured we should walk in instead of making another bad impression on the Ozians by flying into the city and being taken down like a vacuum-ified bird during hunting season." She motioned to the horizon behind Fiyero, where the Emerald City's glow and silhouette was clearly visible, even in broad daylight. It reminded Elphaba vaguely of New York; it had made several advancements in eight hundred years.

Fiyero nodded his agreement. "That's true, but even if that doesn't catch their attention, your peculiar mix of English-Ozian language should. I don't care what you say, 'vacuum-ified bird during hunting season' doesn't make sense in either world."

"Yes, well," Elphaba huffed airily, "It's not my fault that I've adapted to both worlds equally. Maybe I'll just have to stay silent the whole time we're there, if that's what you really want."

"Fat chance," Fiyero teased lightly, stepping away nimbly as he dodged the fist she had directed at his stomach.

Without speaking, she turned on her heel and started walking towards the Yellow Brick Road, which was in remarkable condition for its age. She paused for a moment to let Fiyero catch up and resumed stomping through the wheat field.

"Are you really serious about this Fae? You're really not going to talk?" Fiyero asked curiously, smiling when he received her nod. "This is going to be fun then," he said, earning himself another fist to the stomach.

0o0o0o0o

"Your Ozness?" Lady Glinda called, knocking politely on the oak doors of the 91st ruler's office, "You wished to see me?"

"Yes, Lady Glinda," came the reply from inside, "Come in, please!" Lady Glinda obliged, gliding into the room smoothly. She crossed the carpet quickly as she approached the ruler, smiling warmly. She bowed courteously before taking a seat in the chair before her. The ruler responded with a smile of her own, putting down her quill and clasping her hands together over the newest legal bill.

"It's always a pleasure to see you, Lady Glinda," the ruler said pleasantly. This particular ruler had always been kind and genuine in the past, but Lady Glinda sensed something strained behind the greeting today.

"The pleasure is, as always, mine Esmeralda," she said amiably, attempting to alleviate the strange feeling of hostility.

"Your Ozness will do for this meeting, thank you, Lady Glinda," she said sternly, sweeping her green eyes up to meet the startled blue ones. However, as confident as she had tried to sound, the hesitancy behind her eyes made it very clear that Lady Glinda intimidated her.

"What is this about, Esmeralda?" Glinda asked calmly, maintaining her composure but eyeing the taller woman warily. As far as she knew, Esmeralda was a lovely young woman who wasn't angry when she didn't need to be.

"It concerns your speech a few days ago. The one regarding your friend, Elphie," the 91st ruler said, her eyes a particularly alarming mix of betrayal, fear, and suspicion.

Lady Glinda paled, attempting and failing to keep a smooth countenance. "And what of her?" she asked lightly, her voice higher than usual. If the ruler had somehow remembered Elphaba's real story, this situation could turn very sour, very quickly.

"Lady Glinda, I'm not sure if you're aware of this fact, but every time a new ruler comes into office, they have a…talk… with their predecessor," The 91st ruler watched unhappily as the diminutive woman before her paled further. She did not want the woman she had admired since she was little to be guilty of such an ultimate betrayal to Oz. "Now, during this talk, we discuss current threats to Oz. We are given a small book that contains information on past threats to Oz that have the potential to… resurface."

"I'm not seeing your point, Your Ozness," Lady Glinda said warily, her voice remaining at an uncomfortably high pitch.

Esmeralda frowned sadly, "That surprises me Lady Glinda. Let me clarify, even though I suspect that you do, in fact, see my point." She pulled out a small, thin, emerald book with yellowing pages. "This book," she said quietly, "Is the book I mentioned. Imagine my surprise," she tossed the book onto the desk in front of Lady Glinda, "When I find four whole pages dedicated to your Elphie."

The woman before her nodded solemnly, her face already as pale as it could go. She locked her eyes with Esmeralda briefly before looking down at the book. "May I?" she whispered, motioning at it. Esmeralda nodded curtly as Lady Glinda picked it up. The woman's actions seemed to confirm her guilt. This made the current ruler of Oz very unhappy.

Lady Glinda however, was immediately disturbed by the book she held in her hands. On the very first page, there was a portrait of Elphaba, her face painted in a wicked grin. Lady Glinda shuddered involuntarily at the distinctly _un-_Elphaba expression. Next to the strange face, the words 'Wicked Witch of the West, alias Elphaba Thropp: Oz's Number 1 Threat' were printed in ominous lettering. Below that was a list of her physical characteristics, and below that a list of the alleged crimes she had committed against Oz. The list took up two of the four pages. The rest of it was dedicated to ways to defeat her, ways to "negotiate" with her, and ways she might return.

"Yes, well-" Lady Glinda said in an oddly strangled voice, "I can see how my actions may have been incriminating." The section that dealt with ways to negotiate with Elphaba kept drawing her eye and frankly, it was making her sick.

"Lady Glinda, I'm sure you have reasons for everything you do," Esmeralda said, her softened voice contrasting with the angry edge in her eyes, "But I simply cannot understand why you would forsake the safety of Oz to clear an evil witch's name. You're known for putting our safety above anything else. In fact, you inspired me to become ruler with your undying dedication to Oz," The hurt in her voice made Lady Glinda reel back as if she had been slapped, "So this sudden and blatant betrayal of our world is not only something that could ruin your life, your reputation, and your power, but could jeopardize Oz's safety if the Witch were to be revived."

"Her name was Elphaba, not 'The Witch'," Lady Glinda corrected automatically. She had been around long enough to not care about her social status. Elphaba however, was a wound that had never quite healed. Esmeralda glared at the smaller woman, her eyes narrowed, but the Lady only returned the glare with pleading eyes, asking the ruler to understand. They remained silent for awhile, until Lady Glinda's eyes swept downward, focusing on her clenched hands. She was shaking very slightly.

"It would be prudent," The ruler sighed, rubbing her eyes wearily, "If you were never to mention your Elphie again. The damage you've done to Oz is already irreparable, Lady Glinda, and I'm not allowed to consider your age or wisdom when justice is at stake. This kind of crime is normally punished with death. I'm sure you had your reasons, but my trust in you has been violated, and should I detect another issue, I will have no choice but to," she paused, and Lady Glinda looked up to see the red-haired woman's eyes shining. Oz's ninety-first ruler was practically a child. "Well, I would have no choice but to reward you with the normal punishment… Please, Lady Glinda, don't bring me to that point."

Lady Glinda smiled slightly, despite the grim implications of the ruler's statement. Nobody felt quite comfortable talking to the 826 year old in the first place. It stood to reason that Esmeralda would feel even more uncomfortable _threatening_ her.

"I understand, Your Ozness," Lady Glinda said reassuringly, "But I'd like to let you know that everything I said out there on the balcony about Elphaba was true. She was innocent for most of her life. It wasn't until the Wizard, who I assume is the original author of that book, drove the political propaganda to a maximum that she actually committed any wrongdoings. Only the last two crimes listed are crimes she is guilty of."

Esmeralda blinked. "Then why would she be at the forefront of every problem that Oz had back then?" It seemed as if she wanted to believe Lady Glinda, but her dedication to Oz was holding her back. Maybe this was Lady Glinda's chance to thoroughly clear Elphie's name.

"You know as well as I do how political propaganda can ruin someone's life," Lady Glinda said gently, "That's all Elphaba ever was. A victim."

Something in Esmeralda's eyes flashed, and Lady Glinda immediately realized that she had somehow said the wrong thing.

"Get out," Esmerelda said quietly. She was still hesitant about giving Lady Glinda orders, but the petite immortal obliged anyway. "I'll be keeping an eye on you Lady Glinda," she called angrily, and only a slight shimmering of Lady Glinda's flashy ball gown indicated that she had heard.

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"What do you mean, 'I can't see Lady Glinda'?" Elphaba demanded angrily, her hands placed on her hips as she glared at the large Ozian Guard that blocked the palace gate. The three of them, Fiyero, Elphaba, and the guard were standing in the less-known back-alley entrance to the Palace. Elphaba had confronted a shifty looking man in the streets that had graciously agreed to show them the way after a few hefty threats. The green woman was taller than he and intimidating enough to get her way. She fit Lady Glinda's description of her friend Elphie, but he quickly decided that someone so rude could not be the Lady Elphie.

"I mean that no one gets in to see Lady Glinda, not no way; not no how!" The guard said insistently, folding his arms menacingly. The narrow alley was large enough for three large men, but he seemed to fill it up quite adequately. "Especially not some gutter-trash trying to sneak in the back!" He added, glancing suspiciously at Fiyero's fraying fabric.

Elphaba bristled at the word 'gutter-trash'. "Who died and made you king? Who are you to decide who gets in to see Lady Glinda?" She said through clenched teeth, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"What happened to staying silent, Fae?" Fiyero hissed under his breath as the Ozian Guard drew himself up to his full height.

"I may not know what a 'king' is," he said firmly, "But I do know that I am Ozian Guard Number One, Jindir Flinn, Captain of the Palace Guard. I am in charge, and you are not getting in!"

Elphaba was slightly surprised to find that this Ozian Guard didn't know what a king was; she had assumed that the Vinkus still had one, but this still showed how disconnected she was. Jindir Flinn probably thought she had called him something nasty. "What is the Ozian Guard Number One doing guarding the back-alleys?" she asked, hoping to distract him somehow.

Jindir Flinn, however, did not take it as a simple question. He took it as an insult. "The Ozian Guard," he said hostilely, "prides itself on equality. I take the lower shifts just like all my officers. It reinforces our teamwork."

"Please," Fiyero said, pulling a protesting Elphaba behind him before she could blow up at the unsuspecting guard, "If there's _any_ way we could see her, we would be forever in your debt."

"No one gets an audience with our Lady," he said forcefully, "You want to see her? You go to her speeches like everyone el-" the man's sentence was cut off abruptly as Fiyero heard a loud crack. Jindir Flinn's eyes widened as he fell forward, revealing Elphaba, holding the vacuum with a sadistic grin on her face.

"You're going to regret that, Fae," Fiyero said sternly, secretly wondering how Elphaba had managed to go unnoticed by both him and the guard, "You wanted to make a good impression on these people, and you've already committed an act of aggravated assault! It's not going to help us any to be reckless like that!"

"You sound just like my father," Elphaba said offhandedly as she knelt down to see if the Ozian Guard Number One was alright, "It was pretty clear that he was not going to let us in, and they're certainly not going to let us in the front. I did what I had to do." After the back of his head passed the once-over medical inspection, Elphaba nodded to herself and stood up. "He'll be fine," she said, "So let's go see this Glinda. I'll leave the vacuum here if you're that concerned about good impressions, dearest. We'll just leave everyone to wonder what the Captain of the Ozian Guard was doing with an enchanted vacuum in the back-alley entrance to the Palace." She smirked at this, and Fiyero simply nodded, worrying silently for his wife's mental health.

"You're just lucky no one saw us," Fiyero said quietly, scowling at Elphaba's returning shrug. For someone who spent several years as a fugitive, she was certainly throwing caution to the wind.

"Yes, I guess we are," Elphaba said, turning towards the palace. "So now that we've achieved this lucky feat, why don't we find Glinda so that the three of us can get back to America ASAP? We're wasting time!"

"Wait, you want to take her _back with us?_"

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Oh, Lady Glinda! I'm so glad I've found you!" Lilla's voice echoed down the hallway after Lady Glinda. She dropped into a deep curtsy as the Lady turned, not seeing the worried look on her idol's face.

"A pleasure to see you again, Lilla," Lady Glinda said, rearranging her facial expression into her famous smile and pulling the handmaiden up from her curtsy. "You were looking for me?"

"Yes, m'lady! You're needed in the throne room, remember? You have a press conference regarding the new laws that the 91st ruler passed. Some people are upset about the new laws, and you're always so good at calming people down and getting them to think things through. I know that all the servants and guards are in there already; we're all excited to hear what you have to say. By the way, your speech the other day was positively splendiferous! I've never been so interested in Ozian History! Lady Elphie must have been a wonderful person! Oh, I was absolutely- Is something wrong m'lady?" Lilla paused, taking a deep breath as Lady Glinda grimaced. Something she said had obviously upset the woman, but Lilla could not see what. She automatically shrunk back; this was what she got for opening up instead of staying silent and shy like she normally did.

"Nothing too serious, Lilla," Lady Glinda said, mentally berating herself for reacting so harshly to the mention of Elphaba's nickname. She hadn't thought that she would ever feel bad for clearing her best friend's name, but if it meant she could no longer gain trust from Ozians and, by extension, could no longer help them, then she wasn't sure that breaking her promise to Elphaba was the right decision. "I'm just having a few internal issues. Nothing to concern yourself with. Now, about that press conference. Would you like to accompany me to the throne room? I would certainly enjoy your presence."

The girl nodded happily, breaking into a wide smile. Lady Glinda smiled in return. Just because she was worried about her own situation didn't mean she needed to drag others into it.

0o0o0o0o0o

The 91st ruler sighed and put her head in her hands. She hadn't meant to be so forward with the Lady Glinda, but calling Oz's greatest threat a victim was unacceptable. She supposed she might be overly biased. The last time those particular words had been used, things had not gone well for her.

Oz's ruler had not always had ambitions to be in control of all of Oz. Way back when, just after she had graduated from Shiz's political division, all she wanted was to be a lawyer. Her excitement had no boundaries the first time she landed a big-ticket case defending a man who had been accused of murder. If she could prove his innocence, then she would finally get that break into the world of justice she had been longing for. The only issue was, she was so obsessed with proving his innocence that she didn't stop to think that he might have been guilty.

"_Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," Esmeralda said confidently, meeting each person's eyes as she passed them, "The fact that a murder has taken place is indisputable. I will be the first to demand that the monstrous Ozian responsible for it should be punished. However, such a punishment is so severe that we have to make sure that it is awarded to the right person. Mr. Duvall has already presented his alibi, and several witnesses have testified in favor of this young man. Something even more monstrous than murder would be punishing an innocent man and letting the killer go free. No, Mr. Duvall is innocent, and the evidence presented is undeniable. Mr. Duvall has committed no crime, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. You all know as well as I how the trappings of the Ozian justice system can ruin or even end a person's life. That's all Mr. Duvall is. A victim. A victim of our fierce desire to bring justice to the first person who falls under suspicion. The prosecution wishes to play on this desire; wishes to see Mr. Duvall dead. They would have you condemn an innocent man under the pretense of doing the right thing." Esmeralda paused, leaning forward slowly as the jury subconsciously mirrored her. "Don't prove them right," she whispered solemnly._

The 91st ruler shuddered at the memory. Mr. Duvall had been found innocent, and it seemed her career was going to be unstoppable. However, the Unnamed God was quick to compensate for her unending joy.

The next day, all the headlines of every newspaper in the Emerald City were plastered with Mr. Duvall's face. The _very next day_, Mr. Duvall had murdered another young woman. And Esmeralda had been indirectly responsible for her in the way Lady Glinda had been determined to prove the Wicked Witch of the West's innocence reminded her of that particular experience. It wasn't Lady Glinda's fault that she was misguided, but if this continued, Esmeralda would have no choice but to get rid of her, for Oz's safety. It was hard to admit that someone so ingrained in Ozian History could be wrong, could be arguing on the side of evil, but here was the solid proof.

0o0o0o0o0

Elphaba was practically flying through the halls now that they were in the castle, dragging Fiyero by the hand.

"Do you even know where we're going, Fae?" Fiyero asked, struggling to ignore the nausea brought on by the continuous gray blur of the castle walls, "What happens if we run into somebody else before we find Glinda? I mean, we're not even sure that this is the same Glinda, remember? We're 800 years in the future, so who's going to bail us out of the trouble we'll be in if this isn't the right one?"

"I just have a good feeling about this, Yero!" Elphaba said excitedly, continuing to dash through the hallways. "I think fate is on our side! After all, we haven't run into anyone so far, so where do you think everyone is? In the same place, right? And if everyone is in the same place, why shouldn't Glinda be with them?"

"So how do you know where we're going?" Fiyero asked, realizing with some disappointment that she wasn't going to be thinking rationally until this Lady Glinda proved to her that the Glinda they both knew and loved was long gone. He only hoped that when the Lady Glinda did confirm their Glinda's death, Elphaba would be able to overcome the hurt and despair she would feel long enough to get them home.

"The only places I can think of that would be big enough for everyone in the castle to fit would be the throne room, and the dungeons. Why would everybody cram themselves into the dungeons when the throne room is much more appropriate for anything they could possibly be doing? It's just common sense, Yero!" Elphaba was talking a mile a minute, and Fiyero had to forcibly repress the retort he had in mind regarding her common sense, or lack thereof.

After Fiyero didn't reply, Elphaba fell silent. They ran in silence for a few minutes until the faint sounds of a large crowd reached their ears. Elphaba let out small victory cry and picked up the pace. The sounds of the crowd grew very loud, very quickly, and Elphaba's grip on Fiyero's hand tightened painfully.

Elphaba and Fiyero burst into the throne room and were met with a solid mass of people. Most of them appeared to be reporters, and on the far side of the room, a large table that resembled the type they used for press conferences stood empty. A few Ozians looked back with some annoyance as Elphaba crashed into them, but she went otherwise unnoticed.

"Excuse me," she said, tapping one of the less-annoyed reporters on his shoulder. "Why is everybody gathered here? Is something going on?"

The reporter looked at her strangely, as if he expected her to know exactly what was happening, but he answered nonetheless. "It's a press conference held by the Lady Glinda," he said slowly, "Some people don't appreciate the new laws passed and Lady Glinda has graciously offered to explain the ruler's reasoning…" he trailed off as he looked closer at Elphaba. "Miss… Do you know you're green? And horribly out of style?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Oh, I hadn't noticed," she said sarcastically before Fiyero elbowed her in the side. Oh, right. Manners. "I apologize," she said as the man drew back, "I'm just sensitive about my skin color. Most people don't take fondly to it."

"Why ever not?" The man asked curiously, "Lady Glinda actually told us of her friend that had green skin. You know, you fit her description quite accurately. From the skin to the horrendible fashion sense," he drew out a notepad and a quill that seemed to come from nowhere, "Do you mind telling me your name?"

Elphaba reeled back. Yet another person recognized her from this Glinda's description. However, this person recognized not only her skin color, but her supposed 'horrendible' fashion sense. That didn't hurt as much as it could of if she were actually dressed in Ozian clothing and not kitten slippers and pajamas, but her Glinda was the only one Elphaba could imagine who would worry about that kind of thing. Maybe her encounter with this man wasn't totally useless, but it still wouldn't do to have anyone, especially a reporter, get to Glinda before her.

"Er, I'm not this Elphie person Gl- Lady Glinda talked about," she said, laughing away the man's suspicions, "But you're not the first person to make that mistake, so I'm willing to forgive and forget."

The man blinked. "Yes, well, I would still appreciate-"

The curious reporter's statement was interrupted by a large swell of noise from the crowd. Spinning around rapidly, quill at the ready, the man joined in with the chorus of 'Lady Glinda' being shouted by the other reporters, vying for the first question and Lady Glinda's attention.

Elphaba couldn't see Glinda past the group of people yet, but her heart swelled with excitement as Fiyero held her shoulders to keep her from leaping into the crowd and getting lost.

"This is it Fiyero," Elphaba said excitedly, "This is what we've been waiting for!"

Fiyero smiled and nodded, but something seemed out of place. He didn't seem as excited as Elphaba was; he appeared to be almost worried. Elphaba was about to ask him about it, but as she opened her mouth, the shouting escalated to a volume that drowned out her words.

After roughly a minute of continuous cheering, an all-too-familiar figure rose above the crowd, followed by a small girl and two Ozian Guards. Glinda turned with a flourish and took a seat at the head of the table, the girl standing behind her and the Ozian Guards flanking her on either side. She smiled warmly and held up her hand for silence and the crowd immediately fell silent. Elphaba nearly laughed at how adoringly these people looked at Glinda. She had thought the Ozians back in her day had been venerate, but they were nothing compared to this lot.

"We all know why we're here," Glinda said amiably, and Elphaba's heart nearly skipped a beat. This was definitely her Glinda, but she did not sound like her Glinda. She sounded… more mature, almost wise. It was a subtle difference, but Elphaba could suddenly tell that some eight-hundred years of life had changed Glinda. She wasn't that giddy school-girl straight out of University. She sounded a lot more sure of herself and, more alarmingly, she sounded sad. "We all know why we're here," she said again, silencing the small whispers, "So I see no reason why we should waste everyone's valuable time. I'll answer any questions," she said, laughing slightly, "As long as they don't get me in trouble with our esteemed ruler." Glinda said that last part conspiratorially, as if it were an inside joke with the crowd, and Elphaba found herself laughing along with them. The petite blonde had become a lot better at managing crowds effectively and keeping the crowds in question happy since Elphaba had been gone, but then again she probably had no lack of experience.

"So, my fellow Ozians, I'm an open book. Ask away!" She said grandly, but before anyone could raise their hands, Elphaba took her opportunity.

"Glinda!" she called loudly, jumping up and waving her arm. Heads swiveled around to face Elphaba, and Glinda's eyes widened before Elphaba realized she had dropped the honorific that everyone seemed to think was mandatory.

"It's Lady Glinda," one of the reporters hissed in the absolute silence, but most everyone else remained quiet, their eyes returning to the frozen figure at the head of the table.

**Well, I must admit I don't like cliffhangers, but that was the best place to stop it. Trust me, you'll thank me later.**

**Incidentally, I finally got the chance to add in Ozian Guard Number One. I hope you enjoyed him. :)  
**

**In the mean time, I'd greatly appreciate reviews. Part of the reason why I'm taking so long in between updates is because, while I write a little of it everyday, a lot of thought goes into every word I put in this story. Reviews let me know that my hard work was worth something. **


	5. Precious Few At Ease

**Hello, hello! Thank you for your reviews, I'm continuously amazed by how much you guys support me in this strange, topsy-turvy story.**

**This was, surprisingly, the shortest chapter I've written so far. It's still over 4,000 words, don't worry, but I was still startled.**

Chapter 5: Precious Few At Ease

_"So, my fellow Ozians, I'm an open book. Ask away!" She said grandly, but before anyone could raise their hands, Elphaba took her opportunity._

_"Glinda!" she called loudly, jumping up and waving her arm. Heads swiveled around to face Elphaba, and Glinda's eyes widened before Elphaba realized she had dropped the honorific that everyone seemed to think was mandatory._

_"It's Lady Glinda," one of the reporters hissed in the absolute silence that followed her outburst, but everyone else remained quiet, their eyes returning to the frozen figure at the head of the table._

Lady Glinda was having hallucinations. Yes, this was the only possible explanation for what was taking place in front of her. It didn't matter that everyone else in the room could see her too; Elphaba was dead. Lady Glinda had finally gone over the edge. The constant reminders of Elphaba in the past few days combined with the pressure of Esmeralda's discovery had turned her into a lunatic.

And yet, there she was. She looked too real. She didn't shimmer or wave like hallucinations were supposed to, and every second that she didn't disappear was another knife driving itself deeper into Lady Glinda's heart. Elphaba was dead, and Lady Glinda had watched her die. This, all of this, could not be happening.

People were staring at her. Everyone in the room was staring at her, and the silence was deafening. The people who were supposed to be there looked angry or curious. The illusion that was Elphaba looked hopeful and uncertain. Just like the day they met with the Wizard. Lady Glinda blinked several times, trying to shake away those thoughts. This could not be Elphaba. Even if she had not died that night, that was eight hundred years ago. No, the only thing that explained this, besides hallucinations, would be… yes, that was it.

Lady Glinda was suddenly furious. That Elphaba and the Scarecrow standing next to her backed up a step, and several of the reporters in the audience held their quills at the ready, concern obvious on their faces. She rearranged her facial features into a suitably neutral expression and took a deep breath.

"What is this?" She asked lightly, quietly. Her voice rang out through the room, echoing over the sudden sounds of quills scratching. She noted inwardly that her voice sounded very much like the auditory embodiment of ice.

"Gl- Lady Glinda," the Elphaba said pleadingly, splitting Lady Glinda's heart in two. It sounded so much like her. "Don't you… Don't you remember me?" she finished uncertainly, her voice laced with pain. This angered Lady Glinda even more; she could not understand why one of her Ozians would do this to her. As the reporters' quills scribbled furiously, she took a deep breath and spoke.

"I don't know what you think you're trying to do," she said calmly, but her body shook with what could only be rage, "but whatever it is, I assure you that it is _not funny._" She put extra emphasis on the last words and the mock-Elphaba flinched. Lady Glinda crossed her arms, partially to wait for an answer, and partially to hide the clenched fists that marked her anger. She would not lose eight hundred years worth of composure simply because a foolish Ozian was playing what they thought was a harmless trick on her.

"Glinda," the Elphaba started again, ignoring the reporters' automatic corrections, "This isn't a prank. It's really me. Please, Glin." She spread her arms wide, tilting her head sideways and eying Lady Glinda worriedly.

Lady Glinda took another deep breath, trying to shake away the onslaught of memories brought on by that nickname…memories of Elphie. Most of them were from the night Elphaba died, and they cut into her heart like individual knives. Tears filled Lady Glinda's eyes before she could stop them. If the crowd was shocked by this particular reaction, they didn't show it. The only indication that they had seen it was the increased volume of scratching quills.

"Please, just stop," Lady Glinda pleaded quietly, almost inaudibly over the continued noise of the audience. Her breath was getting shorter, and her eyes were burning from trying to avoid tears. The appearance of a fake Elphaba was the last thing she needed right now, especially following her discussion with Esmeralda. "I will admit, you certainly did your research, Oz knows where you dug up that name, but the fun and games are over. They ended the minute you walked in this room." Mock-Elphaba started to protest, but Lady Glinda held up her hand and continued to speak. "It's odd, isn't it?" she said, feigning amazement, "I open up to my fellow Ozians about a major part of my past, for the first time in centuries, and two days later, my dead best friend and one of her dead murderers show up arm in arm? What an astounding coincidence, don't you think?"

As the mass of reporters eyed the Scarecrow with new interest, and slight disdain, the Elphaba exchanged a look with him that clearly said, _I had forgotten about that_, and it only reaffirmed Lady Glinda's assumption.

The Scarecrow stood up taller and looked at Lady Glinda sadly. "Glinda," he said in a heart-wrenchingly familiar voice, and Lady Glinda nearly toppled over from surprise, "You have to believe us. As impossible as this must look and sound, give us a chance. We need to talk with you, er… privately…" he finished with a small smile that made Lady Glinda's heart nearly stop.

Lady Glinda leaned against the table to prevent herself from fainting. There was no way these people could possibly know about Fiyero, she had taken great care to avoid mentioning that particular man and the incidents surrounding him in her speech. Hearing his voice again opened up a whole new brand of pain to her that hurt almost as badly as hearing Elphaba's voice. She did love him, after all. Just because he had run off with Elphaba before he died didn't mean she had stopped loving him. Eight hundred years had numbed the pain, but the source was standing in front of her and had made it more intense.

"I…" she said uncertainly, pain and confusion muddling her thoughts. "Well, I…" She realized suddenly that she wouldn't be able to cast them out now without wondering about them forever. Literally. So, against her better judgement, she decided to agree. "Fellow Ozians," she said, immediately returning to her speech voice and alarming several people in the process, "In light of recent circumstances, I regret to inform you that today's conference must be cut short... I'm sure you'll understand. It is for the clarification of a few facts and for the sake of truth. As reporters and honest citizens of Oz, I'm sure you'd agree." Her words gave the crowd a choice, but something in her manner implied that, should they disagree, there would be dire consequences. Sensing their hesitation, she added, "I may be amenable to interviews later. Regarding any topic you can think of." That did the trick. The reporters cleared out of the room faster than they could have if they had magic to assist them.

In a matter of minutes, Lady Glinda, Elphaba, and Fiyero were the only ones left in the room. After several reassurances, Lilla and the guards consented to leave, but Lady Glinda got the feeling that if she so much as blinked in distress, they would be back through the doors in a second.

Lady Glinda walked slowly around to the front of the table, smiling warmly and motioning the two closer. Her sudden friendliness alarmed the couple, but after a quick glance at each other, they obliged. The only sound the room was the sound of their footsteps against the marble floor. In the silence, even Elphaba's kitty slippers made too much noise. When they were only a few feet away, Lady Glinda's eyes flashed and her smile became a frown.

"The last thing I said to you before you flew out of the Palace?" she asked suspiciously.

OoOoOoO

"I hope you're happy," Elphaba said without skipping a beat. She smiled inwardly; she should have realized that Glinda would not be so easily convinced.

"The secret you told me on the night after the Ozdust dance?"

"My father hated me for a reason," she said, grinning wryly. Glinda's smile had looked so trusting from across the room. She had hoped, for just a second, that Glinda had immediately recognized the truth and made a scene simply to keep up appearances. "Did until the day he died," she added bitterly.

"Madame Morrible's nickname?"

"Horrible Morrible. Do you realize you're shorter than you were the last time we saw each other? Didn't think it was possible, Glin!"

"Not wearing heels," Glinda said with an eye roll before blinking. The startled look on her face made Elphaba laugh out loud. Apparently, that was not what Glinda had been meaning to say.

Elphaba's laugh, however, brought the immediate return of Glinda's frown. "Okay," she said slowly after a minute of strange silence, "Alright, I believe you. Don't smile like that, I want explanations first. Then, _and only then_, may you smile." Her tone was stern, but she returned Elphaba's smile genuinely, if a little hesitantly.

Elphaba was disappointed. This was not the slow motion reunion in a field of flowers with joyous music playing in the background that she had envisioned, and every second that passed made her more sure that there wasn't going to be one. She wasn't normally one for showing affection like that, but she had come to expect that sort of thing from Glinda. As she started explaining, she realized that it had been eight hundred years for Glinda. Not eight. No one could go that long without changing; she was still Glinda, but it would take awhile before Elphaba could get used to the fact that she wasn't _her_ Glinda anymore. _This _Glinda belonged to the Ozians.

To her credit, the small blonde listened patiently as Elphaba, and at times Fiyero, explained everything they knew, from Elphaba's 'death' up to the confusion about time differences. Her facial expression did not change much as they talked; it varied between an angry frown, a frown combined with tears, and a forced neutral face. Elphaba noted silently that the forced neutrality only appeared when Fiyero spoke. When he paused and asked if she had any questions, she nodded slightly.

"Whose idea," she began in a small voice, sounding more like the old Galinda when she was upset than a dignified social figure, "was it?"

"What?" Elphaba asked, confused. "Whose idea was what?"

"Whose idea was it to not tell me you were alive?" Glinda asked again, her voice getting even smaller. Elphaba shot Fiyero a panicked look, which he returned immediately. Glinda looked away, and Elphaba elbowed Fiyero in the stomach. She was not going to be the one to explain this.

"Glinda," he began as gently as he could, hating the way she cringed at the sound of his voice. He hadn't realized he had hurt her that badly, hadn't realized she would still be hurt after eight hundred years. "You have to understand that we couldn't tell _anyone_. It might have put us in danger."

Glinda looked up at him sharply, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Did you think I would tell anyone?" she demanded angrily, her voice escalating in volume suddenly, "Did you think I would do that? Is that it? Well, I can just imagine how that would have played out with the Wizard's subjects. 'My fellow Ozians, guess what? I'm best friends with the Wicked Witch of the West! Oh don't worry, she's perfectly innocent! She didn't mean to scare you. You only thought she was evil because the Wizard is a mean old phony and you're too gullible to realize that!' Yes, that would have gone over wonderfully!"

Elphaba and Fiyero backed away from the advancing blonde carefully. She was unleashing centuries worth of anger in a few sentences, and Elphaba was sure she had never seen anything scarier.

"Lady Glinda, is everything alright?" A muffled voice called from behind the doors, sounding extremely concerned. Heck, if Elphaba had heard this from far away, she would be worried too.

OoOoOoOo

"Yes, everything's perfectly fine!" Lady Glinda called, immediately reverting back to her usual cheerful voice. She kept her eyes trained on the pair, however, and her facial features were arranged in an expression that most certainly did _not_ match her tone. She knew that her anger must be alarming; even before she matured, she hadn't been one to get this worked up. She didn't care. She had heard of heartbreak, and had even experienced it before, but she was not prepared for the continuous pain in her chest that had been persisting since she had first seen Elphaba's face.

The guard did not answer, and Lady Glinda turned to the door for a second to make sure before facing the 'happy couple' again. Before she could speak, however, Elphaba voiced her opinion. "But you did tell, Glinda," she pointed out quietly. "You told all of Oz. When we got here, everybody recognized me and called me 'Elphie.'"

"It's been _eight hundred years,_ Elphaba," Lady Glinda said fiercely, trying to keep her voice down to avoid another interruption. "Eight hundred _years_ of keeping that stupid promise and knowing that the people were celebrating your death. Eight hundred years until I could finally make sure that _no one_ would remember you! Yes, it was a risk, however small, but I thought you were _dead_, Elphaba! Dead! Not only did I think I was going to go certifiably insane without you, but I had to celebrate your death with the Ozians! I got tired of that the first minute the tradition started."

Fiyero opened his mouth to speak, but Lady Glinda whirled around to face him. "And you," she said, dropping to a whisper but maintaining her fierceness. "Do you know long I cried over you? I know you love Elphaba and she loves you, and I accept that now, but then… Oh, I hated you. You left me for my best friend and then you went and got yourself killed! Then, not two months later, I lost said best friend! I'll be happy about the fact that both of you are alive and well soon, but right now I'm afraid you might have come back from 'the grave' just to let me kill you myself!" She stopped abruptly, falling silent and looking back at Elphaba.

Elphaba just stood there, staring at Lady Glinda. Apparently, this was not the reaction Elphaba had been expecting. Then again, it hadn't been the reaction Lady Glinda would have conjured for herself if she had the creativity to imagine their reunion. Almost simultaneously, the trio sighed. They all exchanged an awkward look before Elphaba finally spoke.

"I understand, Glinda," she said simply, sounding slightly relieved. "I understand all your anger, but to be perfectly frank, if you weren't so scary just now I would have thought I was being yelled at by a furious chipmunk."

Lady Glinda's eyes widened and Fiyero flinched back, obviously ready to make a run for it. Then, she laughed. "I missed you, green bean," she said, and Elphaba immediately lifted her off the ground in a huge hug. She hung there awkwardly, startled. When she did not return the hug, Elphaba set her down and frowned at her. She was crying again.

"Glin, what's wrong?" she asked, concerned. She was not ready for more tears. She had experienced more tears in the past hour than she would need in a lifetime, and she didn't know how to deal with it.

"I, well… This is pathetic," Lady Glinda said awkwardly, wiping her eyes, "But I haven't had a hug since the night you died…"

OoOoOoO

That morning, it was announced that Lady Glinda had formally invited her 'guests' to stay at the Palace for the duration of their stay in Emerald, and their flashy confrontation in the throne room was the headline of every newspaper. Everyone wanted to know how the Lady Elphie and the previously unmentioned Master Fiyero had managed to stay alive as long as Lady Glinda, and Lady Glinda's extremely rare emotional display had more than a few citizens of Oz worried.

"'Lady Elphie and Master Fiyero: Friends or Foes?'" Elphaba said, reading the headline of the nearest paper. Fiyero scoffed, holding a hand to his heart and pretending to be insulted. That afternoon, Glinda had personally visited their quarters, her arms filled with newspapers. She set a few of them down on a table, and the others she chunked at Elphaba.

"These are just a few of the tabloids that run around Oz these days," she had said uncertainly. She was clearly not as comfortable around Elphaba yet as Elphaba was with her, "And I think I may have done more harm than good when I reacted so… emphatically to your arrival. People are welcoming you with mixed messages. If they had to welcome you, I would've preferred the type of message that said 'Welcome back to Oz!', but there's nothing to be done about it now."

Elphaba had nodded, just glad that the newspapers weren't printing stories about her that involved her former reputation. "Are you sure," she said as she examined a stack of gossip columns about her, "That no one knows about my past? I can't shake off this feeling of apprehension, Glin. It's creeping me out."

Glinda had paused hesitantly, long enough to make Elphaba worry before she had slowly shaken her head. "No one," she had assured Elphaba, but the unfinished '_That you know, anyway'_ was almost audible. Glinda left quickly after that, avoiding further conversation.

"Fae?" Fiyero called from across the room, interrupting Elphaba's train of thought, "Do you get the feeling that Glinda's not telling us everything?"

"My thoughts exactly, Yero dearest," Elphaba said, setting down a newspaper that was already speculating about the relationship between her and 'Lady Glinda', "I get the feeling that it's important, too."

"Well, there _are _eight hundred years of everything that she might not be telling us," he said uncertainly.

Elphaba shook her head, "No, you're right. She visited while you were showering or re-stuffing or whatever it is Scarecrows do to freshen up. I asked her point blank if anybody knew about the Wicked Witch of the West, and her answer was less than comforting. She's definitely hiding something."

"Well," Fiyero said, scanning the tabloids, "If anybody knows, they obviously haven't gone to the press yet. We've been here more than long enough; we would do well to get out of here before they do."

"What?" Elphaba asked, freezing in place as she set down another stack of papers.

"You heard me, Fae. You and Glinda reunited, got all your issues sorted out, and now everything's hunky-dory. I was against this from the start, you know that, but now that we're done, I want to go home."

"First of all, Yero," Elphaba said carefully, "Glinda and I have probably only begun to get our issues sorted out. A couple of major ones, yes. The others? No. I'm shocked she didn't delve further into our awkward little love triangle while she was yelling all the demons out of her body. You haven't talked to her, and we're _definitely_ not going until you do. Second of all, I know you immediately shot down the idea, but I want to try and convince Glinda to come back to Earth with us."

"Absolutely not, Fae!" Fiyero said, his painted eyes narrowing. "She has duties here, and the Ozians are not likely to let her go without a fight. Don't even think about it, we're not ruining your reputation again. I will not have a repeat of the witch hunts. Furthermore, what makes you think she'd want to go with us after spending all of her ridiculously long life-"

"Another issue to sort out," Elphaba interrupted, making a tally in the air with her fingers, "How on earth, or Oz for that matter, is she still alive?"

Fiyero glared at her, ignoring her question and continuing. "Why would she want to go with us when she's spent all her life here? Even if she wanted to leave, she might have trouble adapting to Earth until the day she died. If she could. How would she explain her impossible life span to anyone who asked? She'd be in danger there. And she'd just lose you again. If we visit every once in awhile, say every two years for us, she'd be fine and all of us would be safe."

"Look Fiyero," Elphaba said, slightly less enthusiastically. The very last thing she wanted was to put Glinda in danger. "I think we should talk with her about it before we make any decisions on her behalf. After all, if she were to come back with us, it would be with her consent.

"She's not coming back with us," Fiyero said firmly, picking up another newspaper and effectively ending the conversation.

Elphaba sighed. "If she wants to, then I doubt we'll be able to persuade her otherwise. She's pretty stubborn."

Fiyero looked at her. "I just worry about her. You, too. Both of you. This is a sticky situation, and it would be best if things just stayed the way they were before all of this. She can't come with us."

"Fine, Fiyero," Elphaba said. It was clear that this conversation was going nowhere. She didn't feel like pointing out the issues with Fiyero's brilliant idea not to tell Glinda they were alive, it would only make them both angry. She shrugged away her thoughts and resumed the story she had been reading. She had to find out if she was really Glinda's friend or just some government conspiracy, after all. Who cared what Fiyero thought? He'd switch to her side after they talked with Glinda and he finally saw reason.

OoOoOoOoO

"Has she _lost her mind?_" Esmeralda practically shouted, terrifying the newspaper that she directed her ire at. "Has she gone absolutely _insane_?"

On the very front page of Emerald Weekly, the most dependable newspaper in the city, a picture of Lady Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West smiling awkwardly at each other stood out underneath the headline: "Lady Glinda's Lifelong Friend: Lady Elphie Returns."

Fury, and a slight amount of fear, raged through Esmeralda's veins. Her skin was rapidly becoming a darker red than her hair. Trying to clear the Witch's name was already a serious offense. Bringing her back to life and allowing her to roam the streets of Oz as an honored guest was unforgivable. Something had to be done, and soon. The longer the Witch had to charm the Ozians into believing that she was good, the worse off Oz would be. The Witch and Lady Glinda were one gigantic problem that needed to be addressed quickly. If something wasn't done, all of Oz would be in danger.

Esmeralda couldn't believe what was happening. The evidence was right before her, but the sheer magnitude of Lady Glinda's betrayal was unimaginable. Whatever this Witch had done to corrupt Lady Glinda, it was powerful magic. She realized that if she wanted to deal with things thoroughly she would, at one point, need to talk to the Witch. This realization terrified her; she did not want to be enchanted into betraying Oz as well.

She did her best to calm down; she needed to formulate an effective plan if she wanted this to go smoothly. She was not used to dealing with magic and she wasn't prepared for it, chances were fair that she'd be of no use to Oz after her talk with 'Elphaba Thropp'. The first step would be planning everything out ahead of time.

Step Two. Talk with Lady Glinda and allow her to attempt to explain herself; try to listen as objectively as possible. Step Three…

**Reviews do wonders for inspiration, you know.**


	6. Nightmarish Qualities

**Wow. It's really been a long time since I've posted anything, hasn't it? I'm sorry, guys. D: I got picked up and thrown this way and that over the past few weeks and I don't know where my time went. Well. Either way, Merry belated Christmas, and Happy New Year to all of you. :D**

**Disclaimer: This is not a Gelphie. Sorry if you're a Gelphie shipper and read this far in the hopes of some Gelphie fluff, but it's not going to happen. I'll try to put something in here that could be interpreted either way for you guys, but I'm keeping with the musical's storyline here. XD**

**Chapter 6- Nightmarish Qualities**

The sounds of the crowd grew nearer; they had finally infiltrated the castle. Angry shouts, threats, and insults echoed off the walls, filling Elphaba's ears with chaos. If there had been any doubt before, it was eradicated in that instant. These people wanted her blood spilt.

"Traitor!" Came a loud, shrill voice that soared above all the others as the furious mob rounded the corner and came into sight, moving as one. The torches they carried flickered brightly and illuminated the almost inhuman grin plastered on every face. They surged around, jeering and throwing things.

"Traitor!" The voice accused again, and the crowd froze in place as a shining figure appeared in front of Elphaba. Glinda stood in front of her, grinning the same twisted grin as the others. A brilliant haze of green light surrounded her, moving every which way.

"Glinda," Elphaba choked, her whisper barely escaping her throat. Glinda sneered at her, and she realized that not only were her feet stuck in place, but she was slowly melting. The look on her face made Glinda laugh, almost maniacally.

"The Wicked…Witch…of...the West!" she said mockingly, pacing in a circle around Elphaba. The crowd stood frozen. The flames did not move, the rocks hung still in the air with their owners still in the stance to throw them. Elphaba melted and Glinda paced. "Of course, you never meant to hurt anyone, did you Elphie?" Glinda spat, suddenly inches from Elphaba's face.

Ankles. Her ankles were gone, and she was eye to eye with her best friend.

"Of course you didn't!" The blonde continued shrilly, answering for the speechless Elphaba. "I was always the wicked one. The weak, wicked, superficial one. You were always the good one, weren't you?"

Knees. "Glinda, don't -" Elphaba whispered hoarsely.

"You always knew what was best for everyone; you were always in the right," Glinda said, stepping back and smirking at the green witch. "Or were you? Things didn't quite work out, did they Elphie?"

Thighs. Alarmingly thick pools of green and black covered the floor and Elphaba could not move.

"Everything for the Animals. Everything for 'Oz's own good,'" Glinda said in a falsetto imitation of Elphaba. Then, her voice dropped and her eyes flashed maliciously. "Everything for Fiyero, you mean. _He wasn't yours, Elphaba._"

Chest. Her chest was gone, and Glinda laughed bitterly. She knelt down to meet eyes with Elphaba and clicked her tongue.

"Shame that didn't work out for you Elphaba," she hissed. "Not for you, not for Dillamond, not for Nessa, not for Fiyero, not for Boq, not for me."

Neck. Elphaba could not protest; she agreed with Glinda. Everything was true, so what could she say?

"So tell me, Wicked Witch," Glinda whispered tauntingly as Elphaba lost the power of speech, "What made you so good? That's what you were right? Good? _What was so good about you?"_

As Elphaba melted completely, her soul screamed in anguish, protesting everything from Glinda's accusations to the way the individual people in the crowd looked like the people whose lives she had inadvertently ruined. Too many of them were Glinda. Nothing was ever supposed to happen like that. Nothing was ever meant to hurt anyone!

00000000

"Fae! Fae, wake up!" Fiyero said worriedly, shaking his wife's shoulders. She couldn't hear him. She was shouting in her sleep, tossing and turning and bending her limbs at alarmingly awkward angles.

Fiyero looked outside, and the early morning sun was starting to creep above the horizon. He knew this would be the time they would normally wake up if he still slept and if Elphaba weren't in this frightening trance. Servants around the castle would be out and about, too. He needed to get her awake before anybody saw her like this and starting spreading rumors. On Earth, she had experienced nightmares similar to the one she was shouting about, but they had never been as intense as this newest development.

"Elphaba!" He shouted in her ear, hoping that no one would be awake enough to hear. Her eyes snapped open, and she returned to her normal sleeping position, but as she gazed up at Fiyero wonderingly, he could tell she was still not conscious. Only the whites of her eyes were showing. This was really starting to worry him.

He laid her back down on the bed and leapt on to the ground and towards the door. He had to find help from someone. Let them talk all they wanted, but there was no question that his wife's potential well-being was more important than any rumor. Help, he discovered as he opened the door, did not have to be looked for very hard. A surprised Glinda was standing in the doorway, her hand poised to knock, inches away from where the door had been previously.

"Glinda, thank God you're here!" He cried with relief, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her into the room. He ignored the way she flinched away from his grasp at first. He was too relieved that someone he could trust had shown up.

"Thank who?" she asked awkwardly, rubbing her arm as he released her. "Master Fiyero, what seems to be the problem here?"

"Glinda, something's wrong with Elphaba," Fiyero said quickly, motioning at the green girl, who had resumed tossing and turning.

"I see," Glinda said, focusing a little too intently on Elphaba's moving form. Elphaba was unconscious. Sleeping. And she and Fiyero were essentially alone together. This did not bode well for her already-tampered-with emotions. "And you are sure these are not just nightmares? She seemed to have them quite often when we were at Shiz together," she said formally, carefully avoiding personal conversation. Things might fly out of her mouth that might make the situation worse.

"No, this one is much more serious than those," Fiyero said immediately, concern evident on his face. He clearly cared about her. Though why she should feel hurt by that, she'd never know. "She looked as if she was about to break every bone in her body, and she was screaming about you. You and the witch hunts."

"I… I don't know what to do about that," Glinda said again, stiffening slightly at the mention of her presence in the nightmare. She did not want to be part of anything that made Elphaba upset. She had decided that centuries ago and she still seemed to fail at that. She sighed, moving to Elphaba's side and not looking at Fiyero. "We do have sleeping charms here in the Palace, of course, but I am not quite sure if that's exactly what we're looking for here. It wouldn't prevent nightmares."

"Glinda, why aren't you taking this seriously?" Fiyero demanded angrily. "What's the matter with you? She is your best friend, and you're talking about her like you've never met her."

"What exactly do you think I should do, Master Fiyero?" she asked, a little more sharply than she had originally intended. A small piece of her heart was stabbing at her chest, and continued to do so as she looked at him. She wanted out of this room. "She's having nightmares. You've surely experienced them before, just as I have. We just have to wait for her to wake up, and then we address the issue with the proper amount of reaction."

"I'm worried for her," Fiyero said, joining Glinda by the bedside. She looked at him uncertainly, but she did not move away. "You should be too. Especially if the press gets wind of this. I don't want the witch-hunts to happen again."

"Neither do I," Glinda said, her voice growing increasingly more strained. "But Master Fiyero, these are nightmares. My Ozians wouldn't be able to make 'Evil Witch' out of that. I think the best they would be able to reach would be 'Tortured Soul.'"

Fiyero shook his head. Maybe he had been overreacting, but Glinda's complete lack of a reaction disconcerted him. "Glinda, why are you talking like that?" He asked curiously, grasping Elphaba's hand. The green woman immediately calmed down a little, and Glinda glanced at him in surprise.

"How do you mean?"

"You're speaking to me as if I'm someone you've never met before, just like with Elphaba. You're speaking to me as if I'm one of those Ozians out there. Yesterday. That was you. Today… It's not."

"Yesterday was not me," Glinda said, clasping one of her hands over the other and keeping her eyes trained on Elphaba. "Remember, Master Fiyero, our astonishing time difference. I have lived eight hundred and twenty six years. Not thirty four like you. One does not go all that time without changing. It is impossible. Yesterday was a rare emotional outburst, which is why the press is reacting so enthusiastically to your appearance. I have not done that since before any of these citizens' great-great-grandparents were born."

"So now you speak to everyone like you don't really know them? Like it's a one time conversation? Doesn't that get lonely?" he asked sympathetically, looking at her sideways and making her heart speed up. She really shouldn't be reacting like this. He wasn't hers. He was Elphaba's. The thought of hurting the two people she loved most in the world made her physically sick. Not to mention the fact that Fiyero would never look twice at her again.

"Incredibly. However, I would rather be lonely than face the loss of another loved one. I don't age, if you haven't noticed. I could make friends with someone who was my physical age, and then in a couple of years, they'd be too old to even speak with me anymore. They'd be busy speaking with their…their children."

"Glinda…"

"Please," she said suddenly, standing up and walking back to the table, where she had placed the things she had been carrying. "For the sake of civility, it would be best for you to address me as Lady Glinda."

"But-" Fiyero protested, standing up as well. Glinda however, simply handed him two bundles of brown wrapping paper.

"One for you and one for…your wife," she said awkwardly. "I did my best to choose colors and styles that would keep you in fashion and still be amenable to your interesting color palates. Nothing pink." She said that last sentence with a small smile, which Fiyero returned.

"Thanks Gli- er, Lady Glinda," he said, bowing with a flourish. "Always a pleasure doing business with you."

Glinda stared at Fiyero speculatively for a moment before she returned the gesture with a small bow of her own. "The pleasure is mine, Master Fiyero," she said cordially, but Fiyero did not miss the small smirk on her face as she left the room.

And there it was. It was awkward, tense, and hardly permanent, but it was a truce.

0000000

Esmeralda paced furiously around her office. This was saying something, as over the years, the Ruler Office had grown smaller and smaller until a Palace broom closet may have been bigger. Cautiousness and protection from assassinations aside, it was quite annoying when one wanted to feel powerful, and that's exactly what Oz's ninety-first ruler needed at the moment.

She needed to speak with Lady Glinda immediately. And discuss punishment. And this terrified her. She was going to have to either banish or put to death the most influential and beloved figure in all of Oz, and for a reason that would not make sense to any Ozians besides the Lady, the Witch, and herself. She shuddered inwardly at the thought of having to confront them. They were powerful, both of them, and the Scarecrow's power remained unknown.

She could not ignore this issue or put it off until she found a solution. Every day the Witch spent in Oz was another day that Oz was placed at risk. There was an interview with Lady Glinda and this "Lady Elphie" later today, and she needed to speak with both of them before they could try to fool the press. She knew she would not be able to handle them both at the same time. That would be suicidal. The power shared between the two, who also happened to be close with each other, would be more than enough to force her back and give them time to escape.

She would talk with the Witch first. If Lady Glinda were spoken to first, she'd warn the Witch and the green criminal would disappear without a trace. This did not feel like a good plan. It wasn't. It was a horrible plan. She'd be talking face to face with the bane of Oz. She'd be talking face to face with someone who could murder her if that person so chose. Horrible plan. But, it was better than any other option she could think of immediately. She'd call in some guards and swear them to secrecy until a punishment was determined.

Slightly better. Esmeralda took a deep breath and leaned on her desk. This was going to be one of the worst days of her life.

"Captain Flinn, are you there?" She asked brusquely, speaking into the air. A slight green shimmering in the air before her informed her that he had heard.

"Yes, your Ozness," he said anyway, speaking in a formal clipped tone.

"Call in your two most skilled guards please, and tell them to report to my office immediately."

"Yes, your Ozness," he said shortly, and Esmeralda could almost hear the salute he was most likely directing at her. With that, the shimmering disappeared, and she was alone with her own thoughts and voice.

She took a seat, sitting regally in her chair and signing a bill with conviction. Then, as she looked over it, she began trembling. What was she going to do? This Witch was the single greatest threat to Oz in recorded history, and she had to speak with her. The Ruler of Oz slumped over in her desk, sobbing and shaking in terror.

0000000

"It's about time you woke up, sleepy head," Fiyero said teasingly as he appeared in Elphaba's blurry field of vision. Elphaba blinked, smiling drowsily at her husband. The smile he wore, however, did not come across as jokingly as he had probably intended to. His smile was strained.

"What's the matter, Yero?" she said as she yawned. She threw her arms around his shoulders and kissed him, letting him haul her to her feet. She imitated someone on the verge of sleep perfectly, but her mind was already alert and racing with many different explanations for what could be wrong.

"Nothing, Fae," Fiyero said charmingly. Too charmingly. "Did you have a good sleep?" he asked concernedly, making Elphaba narrow her eyes. He never asked about her sleep unless she had been having nightmares. But…she didn't remember any nightmares this time. Usually she did. With frightening clarity. "Lady Glinda dropped by with clothes for us earlier," he continued casually, "She figured we wouldn't appreciate looking a mess for the interview today."

"Oh God," Elphaba gasped, sucking in a breath and running over to the tied brown bundle of what was presumably her clothing. "She got me something pink, didn't she?"

Fiyero laughed awkwardly. "No, Lady Glinda assured me that she had chosen something reasonable. For both of us."

"Yero, you don't understand! What is reasonable for Glin- Why are you calling her Lady Glinda?"

"She advised us against addressing her as Glinda in public," Fiyero said, a little bit uncertainly.

"What? Why? Fiyero, will you please tell me what is going on with you? Something's up, so stop being awkward and just spit it out!" Elphaba demanded, using her unopened brown package as a emphasizing tool.

Fiyero sighed. "Elphaba, Oz's current Ruler has requested an audience with you. Just you. Lady Glinda isn't to be present. I don't even think she knows about this meeting. She appeared a little jumpy when we talked this morning, but if she knew about this I get the feeling she would have told us. Or me, at least. You were asleep."

"Glinda was in our room while I was sleeping?" Elphaba asked archly, "I could have been indecent, Fiyero!"

Fiyero rubbed his eyes with his burlap fingers and sighed. "Don't you care about the fact that Oz's ruler has called a one-on-one meeting with you? That Lady Glinda doesn't know about? God, Elphaba, I always knew you weren't a morning person, but you're being especially unobservant this morning!"

Elphaba blinked, taken aback. Fiyero immediately looked horrified. "Look, Fae, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just… I'm worried for you, and being in Oz right now would give me so many knots in my back if I were human right now that I would be a living boulder. What if this Ruler knows about you?"

Elphaba blinked again, thinking carefully. "Oh," she said. "I see. Look, Fiyero. Glinda told me that no one knows, and even with her hesitation around me, I feel like she'd tell me if someone that important knew. We are kind of the hot topic in Oz. She probably just wants to talk. And if she doesn't… well, I'll come to that bridge once I have to cross it. It'll be fine Yero." She smiled warmly and kissed him, waltzing into the other room with her clothes.

"Yero!" she gasped, her voice muffled by the wall between them.

"What?" Fiyero said worriedly, dashing into the room. "What is it? What's the matter?"

Elphaba stood there, holding a white cotton dress with capped sleeves and a hem that probably came down to just below her knees. The whole dress was covered with intricate looking flowers that moved delicately by themselves at intermittent times and glittered when light did not focus on them.

"It's beautiful Fae," Fiyero said confusedly, "But what's the matter?"

"It IS beautiful," Elphaba said wonderingly, picking up a translucent shawl and matching white heels, "And it's not pink!"

0000000

A knock at Lady Glinda's door startled her, making her jump and let out a soft shriek before she gathered herself together. "Enter!" she said shakily, laughing at herself for being so easily frightened. She pushed her papers aside and off her desk and moved to the center of the room as the person in question entered.

"Hey Glin," Elphaba said sheepishly, swirling around on the spot in her new dress and holding her arms out like a model. Lady Glinda's jaw dropped before she grinned proudly.

"Elphaba Thropp, you've never looked so gorgeous," she said, and her jaw nearly dropped again as Elphaba giggled. Elphaba _giggled. _Like a girl. "I do good work," she proclaimed grandly, and Elphaba laughed normally, to her immense relief. It was surprising how much more comfortable she felt around Elphaba than Fiyero, even though that wasn't saying much. She was still very uncomfortable with the both of them, and that wasn't going to change anytime soon.

"Well, thank you Glin. You don't look too bad yourself!" Elphaba said cheerily, motioning at the pretty green dress Lady Glinda wore. It was almost white, and the green accents and jewelry in it utterly oozed "Galinda", even though they were not her signature pink. Elphaba crossed the room and gathered Lady Glinda in huge, strangling hug. Lady Glinda froze for an instant before she hugged back. She had no reason to be so awkward. Elphaba was really real. Standing here right before her, tangible.

"Is there… a reason, for your pleasant appearance, Elphaba?" Lady Glinda said hesitantly as they broke apart.

Elphaba frowned slightly, and Lady Glinda realized that Elphaba must have been expecting her to call her 'Elphie'. Well, that would take awhile before she could mentally prepare herself, so Elphaba would just have to wait. "Well, to be perfectly honest, I wanted to ask you something."

Lady Glinda blinked. She nodded and motioned for Elphaba to take a seat on the gigantic bed before she glided gracefully to her chair and took a seat. "And that something would be?" she asked after a pause. Elphaba looked very uncomfortable sitting on the bed.

"When I spoke to you," Elphaba said formally, making Lady Glinda feel slightly disappointed. They were friends, after all. Just because she couldn't get past her ghosts quite yet didn't mean Elphaba couldn't. "When I spoke to you, you assured me that no one knew about…. Well, you know."

Elphaba's heart sank a little as Glinda paled visibly, shrinking back into herself slightly. It was almost not visible, but Elphaba knew Glinda's tics. It surprised her that Glinda had not learned to lie effectively yet, but then she remembered how simple Ozian politics were compared to the ones she had become familiar with on Earth. The poor woman probably hadn't needed to. But that didn't change the fact that she had felt she needed to now.

"Glinda. Please, I need to know. Who is aware of who Fiyero and I are?"

Lady Glinda sighed, her face seeming to fall. She suddenly looked very close to her true age, despite her perfected beauty. She looked tired. "Elphaba… I've missed you so much," she said, her voice wavering dangerously on the edge of tears. "You've been my best friend. My only best friend over all these years, and I never really got over your death, do you know." She chuckled weakly. "I'm not as strong as you are, willpower wise, Elphaba. I just wanted you… I didn't want you to worry about this until you absolutely had to."

"Glin…" Elphaba trailed off as Glinda looked up at her, tears in her eyes. This had not been the reaction she was preparing for. She had not expected Glinda to sound so… broken. "Please," she pressed gently, "Who knows?"

"The current Ruler of Oz," Glinda said simply, crumbling into herself even further.

Elphaba could barely contain her shock, and her horror. The person who knew was the person who had just requested an audience with her. In half an hour. Glinda blanched at the sight of Elphaba's face before Elphaba managed to calm herself down.

"Anyone else?" Elphaba whispered hoarsely, a lump suddenly lodged in her throat.

If Glinda was surprised by this reaction, she did not show it. She shook her head and curled her small fingers over her face. "No one," she said through her hands. "Look, Elphaba, I'm so sorry, I should have told you. I should have made you leave the minute you got back. Now, in just two days, I've probably made your life a lot worse than it's been in eight years. I'm sorry. I really am."

"It's… It could be better, that's true," Elphaba said, struggling to deal with the vortex of horror that was spreading itself through her body.

"Look, Elphaba. If she… if the Ruler calls you into her office, you have to leave. As soon as you hear about it, you have to go. Because she'll want to confront you eventually, and she'll do everything in her power to make sure she has the advantage when she does. She's a very smart and effective ruler, but once she makes a decision, her mind will not be changed."

Elphaba swallowed nervously. No, not good. Not good at all. Very, very not good. Catastrophically bad, in fact. "I'm afraid it's a little bit too late for that."

**Again, I'd like to apologize for the ridiculous amount of time you all have had to wait for this chapter. It's crazy. I can assure you though, that the next chapter will come soon, as I've got inspiration, motivation, and time. Everything a writer needs. ;) Besides, I wouldn't leave you hanging with that monstrous cliffhanger for too long!**

**Reviews would be greatly appreciated, as this chapter was especially hard for me to write.**


	7. Things Fall Apart

**You know, I really need to get with things. I don't think I'll ever have a schedule for this. Will it be alright if I just update when I can? I hope it will be, because that's all I can promise! D:**

**Anyway, this is a big chapter full of big things guys! I hope you're prepared!**

**Chapter 7: Things Fall Apart**

Lady Glinda looked up sharply before she could help herself. The pit of her stomach jerked itself into knots as she tried to rearrange her features into an expression that wasn't blatant horror. From the look on Elphaba's face, she had failed. Her hands felt like stone as they fell onto her lap, and her throat was abruptly void of all moisture. A feeling that she had only felt once before in her life rose up in her heart. Sheer, unadulterated _fear._ Not of Esmeralda, not of anyone in particular. Fear for Elphaba. A type of fear brought on by desperation and the feeling that, suddenly, she was out of control.

"Glin," Elphaba started, more concerned for Lady Glinda than for herself.

"Elphaba, just don't," Lady Glinda said, her voice forced to a hoarse whisper by the horror she felt. "Tell me what you meant by that sentence right there. Tell me what you meant. And please don't let it be that Esmeralda's already requested an audience with you."

In response, Elphaba simply bit her lip. She said nothing. Continued to say nothing. And every second that she said nothing intensified the horror in Lady Glinda's heart, spreading until it encompassed her whole body. "Elphaba," she said, standing up and closing a bit of the distance between them before stopping short. "Elphaba," she said again, unable to say anything else.

"Glinda... how bad is this Esmeralda?" Elphaba asked uncertainly, some of Lady Glinda's horror seeping into her features.

"She's a lovely young woman," Lady Glinda said, the compliment she had reserved for all female Ozians when referring to them slipping of her tongue before she could help herself. She shook herself off and started again. "Elphaba, she's a lovely young woman to those who don't threaten her. And you threaten her. You threaten her a lot. To her, you're the Wicked Witch of the West, Oz's number one threat. Elphaba, we have to do something about this fast. She's going to want to get rid of you as soon as possible, and that can't happen. We have to figure out a way to hide you before that meeting."

Elphaba had suddenly paled a few shades of green, and parts of her had actually started to blend in with her white dress. "Glinda, you told me she knew. That in itself is bad enough. But that she knew enough to already hate me and want me dead... You should have told me! I could've... what are you doing?"

Lady Glinda had crossed the room to the head of her bed, and was reaching under her pillow for something. "Glinda, what are you doing?"

"Yes, Elphaba, I should have told you," Lady Glinda said as she resumed her spot in front of Elphaba, a shining blue bottle in her hand. "I know I should have. But I didn't... I don't... Elphaba please, take this." Her eyes pleaded desperately with Elphaba as she eyed the bottle uncertainly.

"What is this?" the green woman asked, taking the bottle in between her fingers. The liquid inside it swirled a glowing bright blue, and a tickle of recognition in the back of her mind made her instinctively not trust it.

"It's the reason I'm alive," Lady Glinda said, pain mixing in with her desperation. "Elphaba please, just drink it."

"Immortality potions? That's how you're eight hundred twenty six years old right now? That's why you're like a... a _deity_ to them? A potion of cheap tricks? Glinda, I never penned you has the type to want to live so bad that you'd sink to this level. Who made this for you? The Wizard?" Elphaba knew her words would hurt Glinda, but she was suddenly very shocked. This was not what she wanted to be told by her best friend. That said best friend had succumbed to the temptation of eternal life.

Lady Glinda drew back as if Elphaba's words had physically wounded her. Her heart almost literally broke in two as she watched Elphaba drop the vial. It shattered on the floor, along with her only plan. "Elphaba, I want you to live!" she said simply, doing her best to ignore Elphaba's accusations. "And you, you just destroyed the only opportunity I could think of to get you out of here alive!"

"You'd take an immortality potion, Glinda? Why would you do that? Did you even _see_ sense when you took it, or were you so blinded by the idea of eternal life that you ignored all your morals?" Elphaba asked incredulously, her voice climbing to the level of outrage Lady Glinda knew she reserved for people who had broken her rigid moral code.

"Elphaba, it wasn't like that," Lady Glinda said, grappling with her need to get Elphaba out of the Palace and her need to restore things between them before Elphaba started hating her the way she hated the Wizard.

"What was it like? Glinda, what excuse could you possibly have?" Elphaba's eyes were not tinted with hatred, they were filled with shock and disappointment. Lady Glinda hated that look. It was the look that Elphaba had given her right before she flew away as a fugitive. It made her feel cheap and superficial. Maybe she had been, a long time ago, but she was not that way now.

"Look, Elphaba, _you are in danger!_" Lady Glinda said through gritted teeth. "I will explain on the way to your room to get Fi- Master Fiyero, but we have to do something now! We have to get you _out of here!" _No matter what Lady Glinda tried to stress, it seemed that it would not register in Elphaba's brain just how much danger she was in. Lady Glinda did _not _want a repeat of the witch hunts. This was the last thing she ever wanted. And Elphaba was just sitting here getting outraged over something she didn't quite understand.

"No," Elphaba said angrily, her eyes flashing with that stubborn look. "You explain to me why you would sink so low, be so afraid of death as to permanently avoid it, and I'll go. What does she think can beat me anyway? Water? I want to know now. Then we'll go."

"And I told you I would tell you on the way out of here. Elphaba, I don't want you to die again! I can't lose you again! I watch you die every night in my dreams, and I don't want another nightmare to haunt me forever!"

"Well maybe it wouldn't be forever if you hadn't taken-"

"It wasn't my choice!" Lady Glinda exploded, her anger lashing out for the second time in three days as well as a couple hundred years. Elphaba drew back instinctively, but her eyes held disbelief. "It wasn't my choice Elphaba, it was forced upon me. No, it wasn't by the Wizard, it was by the First Ruler. You know, the ruler that came along after I forced the Wizard out of Oz? There's no way I'd let him stay after what he did to you and your name! And yes, there _is_ a way someone can force you into that. I'm not going to relive that moment again. Will you trust me when I say I didn't want to? Or will you give me that stupid disappointed look again? Will you trust me when I say _I wanted to die _after the witch hunts? I didn't want to go on living without you or Fiyero. I loved you both too dearly to keep on living, and it has made my life a living torture chamber every day since I found out I wasn't going to be able to die like I thought you had! I've been living life in a shiny bubble of pain and hurt while I have to smile and wave at a crowd that I will never get to know personally because they will all _die, _and I won't be able to stand it if I have to watch another loved one melt away before me."

Elphaba sat back on the bed, a look of stunned horror on her face. Lady Glinda stood her ground, eying the green girl with a mixture of pain, desperation, and sadness tumbling around in blue eyes that were close to tears. "Do you trust me now?" Lady Glinda said weakly. "We need to get out of here, Elphaba, and every second we sit here is another second Esmeralda has to prepare. We need to get to your room, talk with Fiyero, and develop a plan. Okay?"

Elphaba nodded, and they both jumped up and headed toward the door. As Elphaba pulled open the door, the brunette maidservant called Lilla tumbled into the room, landing flat on her back and looking up at her Lady Glinda with shock in her eyes.

"Are you leaving, Lady Glinda?" she asked breathlessly, "Are you leaving with Lady Elphie?"

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Not only no," Fiyero said incredulously, staring at the two women and the young girl in front of him. "Glinda's not coming with us, and we are_ not_ dragging a little girl none of us know into this plan."

"I'm fifteen!" Lilla said indignantly, "And it's _Lady_ Glinda, Master Fiyero."

The girl's statement went unnoticed in the immediate protests from the two witches. "Fiyero, we've really got no choice at this point," Elphaba said hurriedly.

"There's no way you're leaving me again, and this young lady has overheard some a very serious conversation and cannot be allowed to stay here after we've gone!" Lady Glinda said, trying to rationalize bringing Lilla along.

"You've all gone insane!" Fiyero said furiously, "We are not bringing more people along and that is that! Have any of you even thought about how we're getting back? Or have none of you realized we don't have the Grimmerie?"

"It's not that type of spell, Yero," Elphaba said abruptly, her eyes shining in triumph now that she had found a hole in his argument. "The spell between worlds doesn't have an incantation. It's brought on by genuine need or intense feelings from someone who's capable of casting magic. Depending on how strongly one feels about escaping, and about with whom, someone could possibly take a whole city with them!"

"We're not doing that," Fiyero said flatly.

"Of course we're not!" Lady Glinda said, "But do you have a better solution? Once you and Elphaba are out of Oz, Esmeralda will undoubtedly try to expose me as a traitor to Oz. I had always hoped to die one day, but not in an avalanche of pitchforks and torches. I'd very much like to live a life out of the spotlight at this point, Fiyero."

"So why does the girl have to come?" Fiyero asked pointedly.

"Because she overheard a conversation about very important issues," Lady Glinda said defensively, unconsciously moving slightly in front of Lilla, as if to protect the taller girl from the taller Scarecrow's wrath.

"That doesn't explain anything. She could just stay quiet about it," he argued.

"You know what, Fiyero?" Lady Glinda said stubbornly, "I like her. And it'd be nice, since I am going to Earth and you're not stopping me, to have someone to talk to while you and Elphaba have your husband and wife _moments_ together!" With that statement, both Elphaba and Fiyero blushed, turning interesting shades of yellow and green, but Lady Glinda continued anyway. "Now, I really would not like anyone to die today, especially two people I just got back recently, and I really don't feel like being slandered by my Ozians today either, so as fun as this conversation is, we need a plan." Her words were light and teasing, but it was quite clear to everyone in the room she was not at all as light and happy as she sounded.

"Right. Plans," Elphaba said uncertainly. "Who's got any?"

"How long do you have until your meeting with Her Ozness?" Lilla asked curiously.

Elphaba glanced up at the clock. "Oooooooh... plenty of time," she said, "Just over half an hour."

As that sunk in, Lady Glinda and Fiyero exchanged a look. "Plan now," Lady Glinda said simply, fear tinting her voice and changing it from determined to very, very upset.

"Alright, so," Fiyero said, "I had a plan for getting Elphaba and me out, but with this new development... I suppose we can try and adapt it. We've got thirty minutes."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"I hate this plan," Elphaba grumped as Lady Glinda and Lilla worked tirelessly, battling with Elphaba's hair. "I hate it a lot. This is stupid. It won't work."

"Elphie, just shut up," Lady Glinda said, slightly more confident now that she was in her element. Hair care. "It's the only plan we've got, so just go along with it, alright?"

"You called me Elphie again..." Elphaba said, a grin spreading across her face despite her precarious situation.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Esmeralda jumped only slightly as a strong knock sounded at her door. The guards in the back of the room snapped to attention, and she eyed them pointedly, reminding them of their instructions. She had changed up their plans a little by not talking to the Lady first, but she had eventually realized, from what she had heard from the gossiping servants, that the Lady was going to be on the Witch's side no matter what.

"Enter!" Esmeralda said shortly. Concise statements kept her voice steady and kept her in control. To allow the Witch to gain the upper hand was to betray Oz.

To her surprise, the Witch entered timidly, looking very different from both the newspaper yesterday and the painting in her book. Her hair was done in a a small braid that had small white flowers woven in it, and the rest of her hair hung like a satin curtain underneath it. A small wreath wrapped around the back of her head and was tucked behind her ears. The dress she wore, the small white flats she wore, the timid nature she took on as Esmeralda glowered at her... it made her look like a schoolgirl. An innocent schoolgirl dressed up for a wedding or something. This Witch was still green, but she looked shorter than the book's listed height of five feet and seven fingers. This Witch in front of her looked more Lady Glinda's height, and she completely contrasted with the image Esmeralda had given the guards. While this spawned immediate distrust from Esmeralda, she could see the guards behind Thropp relaxing slightly and directing small frowns at their ruler.

"So," Esmeralda said angrily, "You may take a seat here," she said, motioning to the the wooden seat in front of her. The Witch nodded meekly, stepping forward slowly. "Well, hurry it up then!" Esmeralda snapped. The Witch jumped and hurried forward with a small apology, sitting in the chair like a trapped mouse. The guards looked at Esmeralda disapprovingly. As if this day couldn't get any worse.

"Your name?" Esmeralda asked sternly. It was a simple question, but it could set the mood for the whole conversation.

The Witch frowned defiantly, but something seemed to run through her head, and her eyes grew large and she shrunk back. "Elphaba Thropp," she said timidly. The guards hadn't seen that look, but Esmeralda had. Why was she faking this? Why didn't she just be herself? Of course. She was trying to humiliate Esmeralda. Trying to make her look like a liar.

"Your alias?"

The Witch frowned again, but this time the space between her frown and her sudden switch to timidity was much shorter. "I..." she began hesitantly, her voice squeaking, "I was known as... as The Wicked Witch of the West. A long time ago." The guards smiled indulgently at the Witch, even though she couldn't see them. To these people, who couldn't see her deception, the idea that she was evil must have seemed preposterous. Esmeralda was quickly losing support, and this was not good.

"And how long ago was that?" She had to figure out a way to trap the Witch in a corner, force her to admit things. Then she could take it to the Ozians, and get both the Lady and the Witch out of Oz.

"Eight hundred years ago... As of Laurus Day," the girl answered squeakily, but her eyes flashed with suspicion. The guards were suddenly unashamedly interested in this conversation. They dropped all semblance of statues. Esmeralda shot them a glare and they snapped to attention. The noise made the Witch jump, and she looked back as if she hadn't known they were there. She waved shyly at them and turned back around before they could give her a reassuring nod.

Clever little witch. "As of Laurus Day? That's quite a large day. Lady Glinda's already told us it was the day of your death. How did you get back?"

The Witch squirmed in her seat. She gave Esmeralda a look that was filled with discomfort mixed with anger. "Magic," she said, suddenly shaking as if she were afraid of the taller ruler.

"Magic. So someone brought you back to life? You, who were once known as Oz's greatest threat?" This time, Elphaba frowned in a different way. She looked torn between saying one thing and thinking the other. Esmeralda leaned forward, hoping that this was her admission. The Witch sat there silently, the unhappiness and unwillingness to speak clear in her expression.

"Yes. Someone brought me back to life," The Witch said, purposely looking away. Her voice was strangled and choked, as if they were someone else's words that she was struggling to say.

"Hmmm. Interesting," Esmeralda said, finally feeling as if she was in control. "Do you know what this book is, Elphaba Thropp?" she asked curiously, genuinely wondering how much Lady Glinda had told the Witch as she pulled the book out from her desk.

The Witch shook her head, all timidity once again. "Well, it's a book of criminals and threats to Oz. Ranked in order of their danger, and then by the amount of their crimes. Do you know who I find on the first page? Ranked highest in both respects?"

The Witch looked up at her, that tortured look returning. "Me?" she asked quietly, and Esmeralda didn't even bother looking to the guards for their reaction. Their minds would change soon enough. Esmeralda nodded, smiling at the green woman in front of her.

"It says here," Esmeralda said, rifling through the pages, "That your very first listed crime was stealing a Lion Cub from your Biology class and permanently mutilating it. Is this true?"

"Of course not!" she said vehemently, showing her true colors for the first time. "I would never do that! It's a lie!" She immediately realized she had said the wrong thing, and she shrunk back. This was progress.

"And yet, it's listed. Along with turning two men into a Tin Man, and... oh my, a Scarecrow? And leaving them to die. Luckily your attempts failed, but could this be the same Scarecrow you arrived with?" Esmeralda hadn't looked at these two crimes yet, surprisingly, but the idea that the Scarecrow the Witch had brought with her would willingly accompany her? He must be under some type of spell. She wondered what other interesting crimes the Witch had committed, but she couldn't look through them at the moment. She was busy, and the listed crimes were too numerous. "I could go on forever with this list of crimes, Elphaba Thropp."

The Witch eyed her angrily, clearly trying and failing to fall back into the timid character. "I bet you could. But they're all lies."

"Now, I have to wonder," Esmeralda continued, speaking as if she had not heard the Witch. "With all these crimes against you, who might have brought you back to life?" The Witch's eyes widened, and that odd inner turmoil was present in her eyes again. "Who would betray Oz like that? Wicked Witch, who brought you back to life?"

There was another pause. The Witch looked very uncertain, very much in doubt. Esmeralda coughed to bring her attention back in line, but the Witch simply looked down at her hands. "Glinda did," she said in a whisper, as if the answer were being torn from her without her permission. "Glinda did," she repeated.

One of the guards, Esmeralda didn't know which, could not contain their gasp of horror, and it made the Witch physically flinch back. "How extremely interesting," Esmeralda said simply. The Witch had merely confirmed her thoughts. "Care to elaborate on that, Wicked Witch?"

"No, I don't care to," The Witch said furiously, mocking her tone. She was suddenly very clearly angry at Esmeralda. The young girl who was afraid of Esmeralda had disappeared, and the woman she had been expecting was out in full force. "And please don't call me Wicked Witch. It's impolite and entirely untrue."

"I will call you whatever I please until you have proven yourself innocent of these crimes. And you have yet to do that," Esmeralda said pointedly.

"I can tell you the truth, which you clearly won't hear," she said defiantly. "I'm no threat to Oz."

"Would you care to prove that?" Esmeralda asked archly, leaping upon her chance. "Prove that to all the Ozians living here? In public?"

"They don't know what you think I've done," The Witch said, returning Esmeralda's glare with a raised eyebrow. "Unless you inform them, there's no reason to."

"Unless I tell them you wish to atone for events in your past. Ozians love a scandal, if you haven't seen the newspapers lately. This is your chance Wicked Witch. Prove it to us." Of course, that wasn't really what was going to happen if a speech was made. She just needed to lure the Witch and the Lady out onto the balcony so she could confront them in public. The Witch's temper was already easy to provoke, so her anger on the balcony would hardly do her any good in the Ozian's eyes. This plan was better than any she had so far. She just needed to get them out of Oz. For everyone's safety. Not that she would wish their evil on another world, but Oz wasn't ready or prepared for them at the moment.

The Witch eyed her suspiciously before nodding her agreement. "When will this whole shindig take place?" she asked, glancing back at the guards, who carefully remained at attention.

"Tomorrow, if you wish it."

"I suppose tomorrow is as good as any day," The Witch said, biting her lip and searching Esmeralda's eyes. It gave Esmeralda a small feeling of triumph, that the Witch could not see her plan in advance, that the Witch was not omniscient or all-powerful.

"Then it shall be tomorrow. Will it be alright if Lady Glinda accompanies you on to the balcony? It seems she has quite a bit of explaining to do herself."

"I'd actually prefer that," The Witch said, not shrinking back into the timid character she had tried to stay in when she first entered. They had reached a sort of no-nonsense agreement.

"Then I don't believe we have anything further to say to one another," Esmeralda said shortly, dismissing the green woman. As she stood up, however, Esmeralda realized something. "_Lady Elphie_," she said, emphasizing the presence of the honorific. The woman paused and turned toward her suspiciously. "Stay in your room please. If you leave, it will be taken as an attempt at escaping, and appropriate measures will be taken." Yes, that was the polite way to say 'If you don't want to end up dead, don't move a muscle'. Of course, Esmeralda wanted to put her in the dungeon just to be safe, but that would rouse suspicion from either Lady Glinda or the Witch, and this would ruin her plan.

"As you wish it, _Your Ozness_," She said bitterly before stalking out of the room. A young maidservant was waiting outside the door. She bowed quickly to the Witch before both of them set off in the direction of the guest rooms. Esmeralda motioned for the guards to follow.

"Keep an eye on her," she said tersely, "You've already been shown that she's not what she looks like."

"Yes, Your Ozness," the two said simultaneously, and they marched out of the room and after the girl and the Witch.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"You lost your temper, didn't you?" Glinda asked as soon as Elphaba was through the door with Lilla. "I can feel it. Elphaba, what happened to staying sweet and timid? We're trying to break the mold here!"

"Glin, she wasn't buying it, okay? Besides, you couldn't know if I had lost my temper or not. How do you even know I did?" Elphaba said sharply.

"I just know these things, okay?" Glinda said, "But that's not important right now. What happened in there? Did it go according to plan?"

Elphaba took a seat on her bed, next to a worried looking Fiyero. Lilla stepped outside for a moment with a slight nod in their direction, and Glinda took a seat in the desk chair. Elphaba frowned as she thought over what had just happened. "Not quite according to plan, but we've got ourselves an audience. The Ruler wants to make a speech tomorrow. Says she's giving me a chance to atone for my crimes. Look Glinda, she wants you to be there."

Glinda glanced sideways at Elphaba, a look of sadness mixed with excitement plastered across her features. "You told her that I 'brought you back to life'?" she asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.

"Yes, I did. And it was hell. Look, Glinda, why did you make me do that? There's no point to it!" Elphaba said, the words flying out of her mouth.

"Because I know Esmeralda. I know how she works. Unless I've got something she feels needs to be said, she'll keep me out of things. Now I've got something very, very big to say. And hopefully, if she reveals it like we think she's going to, this will make the Ozians more amenable to our immediate departure. I don't want them to be sad that I'm leaving. Besides. It seems like this is an awful lot like what I felt when you made me promise not to clear your name. It's a mini-retribution," she finished with an awkward glance at her hands.

"It must have sucked," Elphaba said, glancing at Fiyero, who held his hands up defensively.

"Wait until you have to say it in front of the Ozians. That's where it really starts hurting." Glinda was clearly trying to keep her words lighthearted, but the hurt and bitterness was clearly present anyway. Elphaba frowned sadly.

"Well, Glinda... I can't say I like having to do this. But... tomorrow, we'll hopefully be going home. And you and Lilla can stay with us. And, as much as I hate to say this, since I'm not as used to death as you are, we'll all be able to age together."

Glinda looked up suddenly at Elphaba, that particular revelation making her eyes widen with shock. Without a word, she stood up, rushed over to the green woman and, with surprisingly agility and grace considering the blue monster of a dress she had changed into, tackled her in a gigantic hug.

**And there you have it. A little bit of light before the power goes out next chapter. I hope you stay tuned! :)**

**Review please. It really makes my day, since I write this for you guys. I'd like to know what's going on in your brains! O_O**


	8. And the Power Goes Out

**Hello again everybody! I'm genuinely shocked by the amount of reviews I got last chapter, so thank you very much! Last time I promised you a chaotic chapter in the form of a metaphor, so I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 8: And the Power Goes Out**

"Elphie?" Lady Glinda asked quietly, looking across the room at the green girl. It was somewhere close to dawn, but no one in the room had been able to sleep. Lilla and Lady Glinda were perched on the canopied white bed, per Elphaba's demands, and Elphaba sat in the small wooden desk while Fiyero leaned against the wall next to the door.

"What, Glin?" Elphaba asked, glancing over to the bed. She had kept her eyes locked on the door ever since Lilla had tried to go to her quarters only to have the guards outside nearly shoot her. Esmeralda wouldn't let anyone out, even an innocent. Tyrant. It was bad enough that she wanted Elphaba gone, but Glinda, Fiyero, and an innocent girl? It made her blood boil.

"What's Kansas like?" she asked curiously. There was a whole new world she was going to, and for the first time in a long time, she didn't know what waited for her there. It was exciting, and the idea that she may not be able to know everything about it before she died there was even more thrilling.

"Uhm... I don't know. Fiyero and I have never been. Why?"

"You've never been to Kansas? Isn't that the world we're going to?"

"Glin, Kansas is just one state. It's in the country Fiyero and I live in, called America. And America's just one country in the world we call Earth," Elphaba explained, surprised, "Where did you even hear about Kansas?"

"It's where the farm girl was from, wasn't it? Donna or something?" Lady Glinda blushed furiously. She sounded so unintelligent. While the excitement for a new world was all well and good, she didn't want to seem like a fool when she got there. Especially, for some reason, in front of Lilla. And that's exactly what she was doing.

"Dorothy," Elphaba corrected automatically. Wretched little farm girl. It was slightly surprising that she remembered the name so well. She _was_ from Kansas, wasn't she? Interesting. "Well, Fiyero and I live in a state fairly close to it. We live in a small town in a forest state called Colorado. It's got beautiful scenery, and we live in a fairly small town. It'll be a big change from your city of Emeralds, but I think you'll really love it, Glin." Lilla jumped slightly at the nickname, it was the second time she'd done that. She was going to have to get used to it, as calling somebody 'Lady' in Colorado wasn't exactly conventional. Maybe they could come up with something later.

"Does magic work there?" Lady Glinda asked, startling Elphaba out of her speculation.

"Yes, it does. However, very few people know it does, so I think your magic bubble is pretty much out of the question. It's entirely too conspicuous. I also get the feeling you'd be pretty terrible at driving a car, so basically you'd have to stick with me or Fiyero to get places." Elphaba smiled, the mental image of a Glinda with road rage invading her mind before she could banish it.

"A whatzit?" Lady Glinda asked, confused. Elphaba just shook her head, laughing. Looking over at Fiyero for help was a bad idea, as her heart started hurting and he was laughing as well. "Well. I see no problem with 'sticking' with you Elphaba. I haven't used my bubble in years. But that's not why I wanted to know. I've managed to learn quite a few helpful things in magic over the years, and I'd at least like to contribute if we're going to be staying with you."

Elphaba blinked at this, taken aback. "You, who once blew up a sandwich in sorcery class? By stabbing it with your wand and throwing it across the room? I didn't know you could actually do magic, Glin."

Lady Glinda blushed again as Lilla tried to keep her snickers from being audible. She sat up a little straighter. "Yes, yes I can. Regardless of what anybody thought, I was not just another pretty face." As if to emphasize this, she tossed her hair in the exact way she had shown Elphaba several years prior. Elphaba nearly toppled over from the wave of nostalgia, and suddenly she realized just how much she had been missing without her best friend near her.

The conversation traveled downhill from there until all people involved were convulsing with laughter. Eventually, not a single person could form a coherent thought, as it would just inspire another round of giggles.

At one point, the laughter actually loosened Lilla's tongue about her past. All Lady Glinda had known before that point in time was that Lilla had arrived at the palace three years ago, when she was twelve. As it turned out, her parents had willingly sold her to a group of shady people when she was five. They used her as slave untril about a year before she arrived as a maidservant. The Ozians Guards had successfully found the heart of the organization and had arrested the lot of them, effectively freeing Lilla from her forced slavery. She had not caught the attention of the Guards however, and she wandered aimlessly through the city, accepting handouts that were hardly worthy of a rat. She continued this way until the day she first heard one of Lady Glinda's speeches. It inspired her, and she figured that if she wanted to go anywhere in life, she wanted to go somewhere where this woman would be. So she applied for a job at the Palace and was accepted.

When Lilla finished her tale, the atmosphere in the room had darkened, sobering up from its earlier cheery nuances. Elphaba and Fiyero were eying Lilla with shock; the girl seemed heroically well-adjusted now that this had come to light. Lady Glinda sat there staring at the girl. After a moment of silence, she wrapped her arms around Lilla and hugged her. The maidservant hugged back, but she looked utterly shocked.

"What was that for, Lady Glinda?" she asked, a smile spreading across her face. "If anything, I should be initiating the hug! You inspired me so much, and you're the reason I'm here and..." she trailed off uncertainly as Lady Glinda beamed at her. "What is it?"

"Oh, child," she said, still beaming, "Anyone who gets emotional over me deserves a hug." With that, she hugged her again.

"Well then, where's my hug?" Elphaba asked, feigning outrage. "I don't even get a pillow fight?" Fiyero made an angry sound of agreement. Lady Glinda glanced at Elphaba slyly.

"Elphaba Thropp, do you really want to start this?" she asked, and the challenge in her words was evident.

"Why, yes. I really do," Elphaba said archly, daring Glinda to make a move. Then, in one seamless motion, Lady Glinda grabbed a pillow, launching it at her as Elphaba ducked away from it and looped around the bed, grabbing a pillow and trying to hit Lady Glinda from behind. She was too clever for that, however, and she nimbly dodged the attack. Everything spiralled downhill from there, with Lilla and even Fiyero being corralled into the epic duel. Feathers and pillows flew everywhere, and not a single person worried about the time.

All too soon, however, a fierce knock on the door interrupted their ongoing fight. "It's time for the speech," came the gruff voice of one of the guards, and Lady Glinda glanced out the window, shocked. Sure enough, the sun was slowly creeping into the sky. For a day that was going to be so eventful, and probably shocking and upsetting to the Ozians, it looked surprisingly serene.

The group slowly rose to their feet as the knock repeated itself. Fiyero opened the door slowly, and had barely managed to shout with protest before four guards rushed into the room and forced each person in to submission, their hands trapped behind their backs.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Lady Glinda demanded harshly, twisting and turning in the grasp of one Jindir Flinn, Captain of the Guard and Ozian Guard Number One.

"We were told of your betrayal, Glinda," he said gruffly as they were dragged out of the room. "I could ask you the same thing." Lady Glinda opened her mouth as if to protest, but she quickly closed it, shooting a glare at the huge giant of a man.

"It's Lady to you, Captain Flinn," she said simply. "And why is the tallest man assigned to restraining the smallest woman? You've lost your manners."

"You don't deserve them," he spat back, and as much as Lady Glinda knew this was the reaction she had been hoping for, the words still hurt. No Ozian had ever spoken to her that way, nor ever wanted to. Just what had Esmeralda told them?

The way to the balcony remained silent, with Lilla being the only person not to glare at anyone. She was too busy shaking. Lady Glinda suddenly wanted to punch her guard in the face. It was clear that Lilla wasn't doing anything wrong. She would be perfectly willing to just follow behind them. It made her even angrier, especially at herself, when she realized that the only reason Lilla _was_ in this was that she was following Lady Glinda's lead.

Each step they took was in perfect unison, hitting the stone with frightening finality. It was now or never. If everything went according to plan, they would be in America by the end of the day. If everything didn't...well, Lady Glinda refused to think about that. Things wouldn't turn out so great. Slowly, the sound of cheering reached their ears, and the balcony doors came into sight.

"Elphaba," Lady Glinda said uncertainly, fear suddenly filling her heart and replacing the confidence she had gained earlier.

"Glinda," Elphaba said at the exact same moment, her voice filled with the exact same panic. Their respective guards tightened their grips, making the two witches flinch in pain. Fiyero protested it openly, and because of his straw skin, his protest lasted until the guard clapped a hand over his mouth.

When they reached the doors, they saw that Esmeralda already stood, poised at a podium that was centered where most people in the gigantic crowd could see her. Captain Flinn rapped on the glass of the doors, and Esmeralda turned expectantly. When her eyes locked on to them, a smile spread across her face. If everyone present didn't know what it meant, it might have been pleasant and reassuring. She motioned for the two guards standing outside with her to open the doors, and as they did, Lady Glinda and Elphaba were pushed onto the balcony, both of them forced to the floor beside Esmeralda on either side, in full view of the crowd. Both were immediately jumped to their feet, infuriated.

"Don't hurt Glinda like that," Elphaba hissed, but she and Lady Glinda both jumped as the sound of her voice was magnified by several times and released across the square. Everyone could hear their words. Evidently, Esmeralda had powered up the seventh ruler's magnification spells. Not a single word could go unheard.

The crowd outside was immediately buzzing with confusion. No one could understand why Lady Glinda and her friend were being so mistreated. Esmeralda took her place at the podium as the two witches stared at each other in horror. Both had expected Fiyero and Lilla to be on the balcony with them. This was not part of the plan. And suddenly, they could not whisper and make an emergency plan while Esmeralda spoke to the Ozians. Speaking of which...

"Fellow Ozians," Esmeralda said, using Lady Glinda's trademark phrase. Her voice rang out throughout the square for several moments after she paused. "We are truly and sincerely sorry to have awakened you at such an early hour when today will be a busy work day for most, but I have news. News you may not like." She paused again, allowing her words to sink in. The crowd fell silent. Elphaba and Lady Glinda exchanged a glance. "You have been betrayed." Confusion again. Another glance and a deep breath. "And not just by anyone. You have been betrayed by this woman on my left," she motioned to Lady Glinda, and several shouts of surprise, protest, and disbelief rose up, "And you are at risk because of this woman on my right."

The crowd was suddenly moving and alive, everyone shuffling uncomfortably as the disbelieving shouts continued, and Lady Glinda stood frozen, unable to speak. Elphaba stood much the same. This was not at all how they pictured things would play out. Esmeralda was being way too blunt, riling the crowd up in a way that would imply angry mobs with pitchforks instead of mobs that would be too shocked to say anything until they had already escaped. This was not good.

"Fellow Ozians, I know this may be hard to believe, as our Lady Glinda has served us so faithfully for so many years, but rather than have me explain completely, I'm sure you'd rather hear these words from these two. Lady Elphaba has already consented to explain things." Esmeralda motioned to Elphaba, and only her glare indicated her displeasure at having to call Elphaba a Lady. Elphaba swallowed, taking another glance at Glinda, who could only nod as reassuringly as possible, and reluctantly stepped up to the podium.

"Uh... Hello," Elphaba said uncertainly. She wasn't a people person. She couldn't make speeches. The crowd simply stared up at her in silence. "Er, my name is Elphaba. Wait, I think you already knew that... Uhm... I'm not good at making speeches. I don't really know how to say this."

"How about I ask you a few of the questions we discussed last night?" Esmeralda offered amiably. So she was trying to portray herself as the amiable, friendly ruler who had unfortunate news. Lovely. Elphaba nodded, trying to bite back a retort. "Well, why don't you start by telling them what you were known as?" she murmured under her breath. As if she didn't know everyone could hear her.

"I was once known to Oz as the Wicked Witch of the West. I was considered the single greatest threat in Ozian history," Elphaba said, struggling with the crowd and resisting her urge to run and go back to America now. Theoretically, it could be done, but she was almost certain you had to be touching the person you wanted to go with. She would not leave Fiyero or Glinda or, most recently, Lilla. The crowd eyed her speculatively, trying to figure out exactly what was going on.

"Your crimes," Esmeralda prodded again, trying to act painfully subtle.

"I was accused of many crimes," Elphaba said, unable to say she had done anything. She couldn't quite lie to these people. "I was accused of murder, of torturing many different Ozians, transforming them into things unhuman, and abusing Animals. I did everything to avoid the law, and I almost succeeded, until the day I was destroyed. I was killed on Laurus Day, and-" all the words were rushing out of her mouth at an increasingly quick pace as she reached the point where she had to lie. Esmeralda, sensing this, quickly cut in.

"I think that's enough," she said, "I think you're confusing our Ozians. Maybe you should give Lady Glinda a chance to speak and explain. She's had more experience." Elphaba was simultaneously grateful and terrified. She never wanted anything to happen to Glinda. That's why she had chosen to face the Ozians and had forced Glinda to not clear her name. Her Ozians would turn against her. Hurt her. And now, the very thing she had been trying to prevent was going to happen in front of her.

She nodded and stepped to the side, but she stayed close enough to the podium be able to touch Glinda if they could somehow get Fiyero and Lilla onto the balcony.

Lady Glinda stepped forward anxiously, and the crowd responded more vocally to her presence. A few select people had already been won over by Esmeralda's words, but the overwhelming majority was going to be harder to convince. "Fellow Ozians," she began, suddenly realizing that this was going to be the very last time she ever said this. A lump rose in her throat, and it was suddenly very hard to speak. She glanced at Elphaba, standing so bravely next to her. She looked over the audience before her, knowing that she had to turn their world upside down for her own selfish reasons. "Fellow Ozians," she began again, steadying herself.

"Go on, Lady Glinda," Esmeralda nudged gently. Lady Glinda really wanted to hurt her right about now.

"What Esmeralda... that is, our Ruler, has told you is not a lie. I have betrayed you all. In the worst way possible." The crowd was suddenly alive again. There were no protests; no one would call Lady Glinda a liar. There were murmurs of doubt, murmurs of disbelief. Lady Glinda held up her hand, and the crowd fell silent. "This woman standing next to me is... is... A vicious murderer. Undoubtedly the worst thing to ever happen to Oz. She was Oz's number one threat eight hundred years ago, a year before I was... forced into immortality."

Another wave of muttering, more confusion, and slight surprise that Lady Glinda was forced into immortality and had not always been so. "Glin," Elphaba whispered involuntarily, and her voice echoed through the square. The panic in her voice was evident to everyone who could hear it.

"She has amazing magical ability," Lady Glinda continued, her voice wavering only slightly. "Without a doubt, she could easily destroy every Ozian here today. And would do it willingly." Every word that left her mouth was a lie. A vicious lie, and the way her heart dropped to her stomach was the only way she was convinced that she wasn't utterly betraying Elphaba.

The crowd reacted a little more vocally to this, several groups of people backing away from the balcony, suddenly very eager to be at the back of the square. "Now, she was successfully vanquished eight hundred years ago. What I told you about the origin of Laurus Day... was a lie. I lied to you." More protests came from the crowd, but they were not protesting what she had said. They were protesting her. Suddenly, it was clear to them that Lady Glinda was capable of lying to them. She had just admitted herself that she had. Suddenly, it was easier to believe she had betrayed Oz. A few angry shouts echoed up from the newly angered crowd. Lady Glinda had mixed feelings when she raised her hand and not everybody stopped talking. This was going the way they wanted. This was what they wanted.

"Fellow Ozians," she said, addressing them the way she always did. She figured this would make them angrier if they didn't feel that she should be able to consider herself one of them. And it did. "I have not completely detailed the way I have betrayed you. Please, I should like to completely reveal myself to you. Yes, I did lie about a mass murderer being in our presence. I allowed her to roam freely as an honored guest. But I... I also..." All Lady Glinda had to do was say it. All she had to do was say the words, pretend that she wasn't speaking of Elphaba. But, in a way, it was harder than that. For the very first time, there was a crowd that hated her. How quickly their opinions changed. But, it was understandable. Now... if she finished this sentence... For the very first time, there would be a crowd that wanted her dead. Her mind flashed to Elphaba, standing up for the Animals, flying high, defying gravity, defying everyone. This was her chance to make it up to Elphaba. This was their chance to defy gravity together. The way it should have been the first time. "I brought her back to life. I willingly brought her back to life, knowing what she was capable of. I knew what I was doing. I was under no spell. I brought the greatest threat in Ozian history back to life to wreak havoc on you. If it weren't for Esmeralda's interjection, Lurline only knows what could be happening to you and your families right now."

The crowd had quickly increased their volume as she went on, and by the time she had reached the end, she had needed to shout to be heard, even with the power of the amplification spells. Now it was all out, and the crowd was very, very angry. Suddenly the crowd had rushed forward again, and it appeared as if people were attempting to climb up the walls to get to them. How quickly their allegiances changed! Not a single person doubted her. Of course they wouldn't. It was so confusing. She wanted them to feel this way. This was the number one best possible scenario. Now there was a need. Now, if they could just get Fiyero and Lilla onto the balcony, they could leave.

Lady Glinda stepped down from the podium quickly, whirling on Esmeralda. "Are you happy?" she hissed, thankful that she could not be heard. "Do something!" As she said this, she pushed Elphaba towards the doors. The guards, stunned and unable to do anything, stood by as she threw open the doors. Lilla and Fiyero rushed on to the balcony, relieved shouts echoing from their lips as the shocked guards stood immobile. Esmeralda, who had been trying to calm the crowd down and announce the options ahead of them, banishment or execution, turned at the sound of their shouts. She glared at the guards.

"Get them, what are you waiting for?" she shrieked as the four locked hands. The group started to glow with a greenish light and flicker as the guards rushed in. They were torn apart, and as soon as their skin contact was broken, they stopped flickering. Except for Elphaba. Elphaba realized what was happening, and a look of horror crossed her face as she tried to reach for her friends and her lover, but she was already halfway across the balcony. She and her guard flickered brightly for several seconds as Lady Glinda, Fiyero, and Lilla writhed in their guards' grips before she let out a loud scream. The scream echoed out across the courtyard, silencing most as she and her guard disappeared with a large bang.

"Elphaba!" Fiyero and Glinda screamed in unison, their screams echoing after Elphaba's in the complete and utter silence of the infuriated crowd. No. She wasn't gone. She couldn't be gone. This wasn't possible. She had not just disappeared with her guard.

The crowd, once they had gotten over the shock of the disappearance, immediately started roaring again. The guard holding them had released them, and Lady Glinda rushed to Lilla, wrapping her arms around her protectively. Fiyero stood in front of them, shielding them from the guards. Elphaba wasn't there. She wasn't there to get them back to America. Back to Colorado. Everything had gone horribly, horribly wrong. This was the worst case scenario none of them had even bothered to plan for. Esmeralda's smile was unbearable. The roar of the crowd was suddenly much more frightening. They could die. Several guards stepped up to separate them, their faces menacing and fierce now that they knew that the remaining 'criminals' were now defenseless.

"Don't. Touch. Her," Lady Glinda said fiercely as one of them neared Lilla. She threw her arms around the girl, but the man still advanced. "_I said don't touch her!_" she screamed in a completely unfamiliar voice that echoed across the square with desperate fierceness. Several guards rushed forward to try and restrain the furious Lady Glinda, but as she screamed another warning that made her voice hoarse, her pink bubble exploded into existance around her, Lilla, and Fiyero, blasting anyone outside her circle off the balcony and into the crowd. Esmeralda shouted something incoherent as she was forced off the balcony, and the entire audience in the square that day watched in horror as the three newest fugitives of Oz shot high into the sky and disappeared into the clouds.

**I promise I'm not evil. This is the best place to end, I think. I hope. O_O Anyway, any and all reviews would be greatly appreciated! :D**


	9. No Rest For the Wicked

**Back again! I hope that wasn't too long a wait... Ah well, thank you for your beautiful reviews! They brighten my day everytime I look at them! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

**Side note: All my sentences just now ended in exclamation points!**

**Chapter 9: **

Elphaba appeared in her front yard with a loud flash and a bang, Glinda and Fiyero's screams still echoing painfully in her ears. Seconds later, the guard who had torn her away from the others landed on top of her. She let out an involuntary growl as she shoved his body off of hers and leapt to her feet. Both of them backed several steps away from each other and glared.

"Where have you taken me, Witch?" The guard demanded, not bothering to look at his surroundings. Out of fear, or out of the 'certainty' that it was somewhere in Oz, Elphaba couldn't tell. "Where is your traitorous friend, and where is the crowd?"

"Well," Elphaba said scathingly, the description of Glinda grating on her nerves, "I took you to Earth. Keep in mind, I didn't _mean_ to. If you had just left me and my friends well enough alone, you wouldn't be here, and you could be back in Oz with the crowd in the Emerald City, searching like idiots for people who wouldn't be there. I'm sure Esmeralda will want to mount a search."

A sudden realization nearly blew Elphaba back off her feet. Esmeralda _would_ want to mount a search. And it would be filled with angry murderers, just like the witch-hunts. And Fiyero and Glinda were still in Oz. In the path of those people. Stuck on the balcony. Immediately, rage and fear fought inside her body, struggling with each other and with reason.

"You will address our Ruler as Her Ozness," the guard said angrily, but Elphaba was barely paying attention. "And you will take us back immediately, Witch." His voice cracked on the last word, almost as if he felt the sudden change in Elphaba's demeanor. He sounded like a young man, a young man who was being forced to do his job, but worry for Fiyero and Glinda mixed with impatience did not give Elphaba a mind toward sympathy.

"Look, half-pint," she said shortly, refusing to show her fear and have him misinterpret it. "I have to get back to Oz. I don't feel like leaving you here. If you don't cooperate, I will. And when I return, you will find four people who are not too happy with the Ozian Guard at the moment."

The guard flinched as the thought crossed his mind. He put on what he thought was a stern face and kept the spear level with her head. "You will take me back immediately and submit yourself to arrest."

Elphaba blinked, startled. She almost laughed, but the serious look on the boy's face kept it inside. "I will do no such thing," she said carefully. "I have people I care about back in Oz. I will go back for that reason. If I take you with me, I will let you go. And you can go off and be Oz's hero and talk about how much of a savage I am. Got it? I just want to get back to... my _family._"

The guard who was really a boy appeared to seriously consider Elphaba's words for a moment before speaking in a hardened voice. "No. You are a murderer and a liar. I don't trust you. You take me back to Oz and pay your rightful dues."

Elphaba sighed. "You leave me no choice. I'll just have to go back without you." She knew that she wasn't exactly desperate enough now to get specific locations in Oz, but she filled her mind with images of Glinda, Fiyero, and frightening mobs to gather up her strength. As she started flickering, the guard realized what she was doing and began to panic. He threw his spear at her as the light grew brighter, and she nimbly dodged away from it.

However, as she leapt away from the spear, she collided with the guard, who had moved around to the side in an attempt to make contact with her. She pushed him away from her as her world turned green, but as it started to spin wildly and her stomach started to churn, she felt a hand close around her wrist. Then, the scenery changed from urban neighborhoods to the thick, dense forestry that filled most of Oz.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Phil Stevens prided himself on being a punctual, sensible, and completely sane man. That's why he was always out at precisely ten o' clock in the morning to prune the hedges that kept him safe from the strange couple that lived next door. He always knew they were a bit off, especially since the girl seemed to have an addiction to skydiving, while the man insisting on having a conversation with Phil every morning, usually about topics that everyone should know about. After all, only snobs would rub it in other people's faces that they didn't have jobs.

Well, this morning was different. This morning completely confirmed everything strange he had ever thought about the strange couple with the strange names. They had been gone only a few hours, it seemed, because they did not leave the house at their normal times. Not that Phil kept tabs, mind you. However, when they failed to leave the house at 7:30, he knew something must be up. Then, at precisely 10:03, the girl called Fae had reappeared in her yard with another man in an unexplainable flash of green light. Both of them were dressed up in some intricate, flashy costumes from some time period Phil had probably never heard of. They squabbled and stared each other down and yelled at each other until exactly 10:05, and that's when Fae began flickering, and the man he had never seen before threw the spear. It wasn't a fake spear, it was a real, genuine spear. She dodged it, the man grabbed her wrist, and both of them disappeared in the same brilliant flash of green light.

Phil Stevens prided himself on being a punctual, sensible, and completely sane man, but unless Gladys Stevens had baked something not all-together legal into the brownies he had eaten at exactly 8:30 that morning, he had gone completely and utterly off his rocker.

OoOoOoOoOoO

If Fiyero had been able to think about his wife and her safety, he surely would have been worried sick for her. However, as the famous pink bubble of Glinda's, which he had never had the "pleasure" of riding in before, careened across the sky at a speed he had only ever seen airplanes fly at before, all thoughts turned from Elphaba to escaping this horrifying experience alive. In mere seconds, the bubble had taken them almost out of sight of the Emerald City and the infuriated crowd within.

"Glinda!" he choked, making the mistake of looking down. They were too high in the air, and the pink of the bubble's exterior was apparently one way. There seemed to be nothing under his feet. "Please! Slow down! They can't catch us now!"

The petite blonde in the center of the magic apparatus did not move or say a word, but the bubble almost audibly screeched to a halt in mid-air, flinging Fiyero to the floor from his previous position of being glued to the wall. Far below his face, dense forestry spread in every direction. A dull glow of green filled his vision, and he wondered how hard he must have hit his head for the impact to effect his normally excellent burlap eyes like that. He rose to his feet unsteadily, focusing on Glinda's face instead of the world of clouds around him.

"How on earth did you ride in this thing without throwing up?" Fiyero asked incredulously, but Glinda did not laugh.

"Fiyero," she began in an oddly strangled voice. "This is not the time for joking. Elphaba's gone. Elphaba's gone, and all of Oz would very much appreciate it if we were gone too. Of course, they'd much prefer the word 'gone' be replaced with 'dead'."

Abruptly, Fiyero realized that Glinda was barely keeping herself together. A quick glance at Lilla confirmed that the girl was just as terrified. They had never been fugitives before. They had never had a whole country wanting their heads on a platter. Nor should they have had to. And now Elphaba was gone. He knew that she would be alright, that she could easily fend off the soldier and be back in Oz very soon. However, considering the time difference, she'd be back in a few hours if she spent a few minutes in Colorado. The only issue would be finding her. For the two women with him, they were alone in a world that would surely do its best to kill them or torture them if ever they were found. And for all they knew, Elphaba was gone for good.

"Glinda, Lilla," Fiyero said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. "Elphaba mentioned that the ability to travel between worlds is initiated by need. Don't you think she needs us? She'll be back he shortly. Let's just get down out of the sky," he paused and gulped nervously, "Slowly. Then we can figure out a plan. Any other mode of travel won't be fast enough to catch up to us for awhile now. We'll make a plan."

Glinda nodded slowly, doubt and terror very much apparent on her face. She looked over at Lilla, smiling weakly, and the bubble slowly descended. Occasionally, it would jerk uncertainly, as if Glinda had lost control, and Fiyero uncomfortably noted that this only happened when she would look at him or glance back at the Emerald City.

As they slowly descended, Lilla took the time to sit down, crosslegged, in the bubble, pretending that her vacant expression resulted from her awe of the Ozian landscape, and not what had just taken place. Glinda's features slowly settled into a mixture of apprehension, discomfort, and something Fiyero recognized as deep, concentrated thought, and she remained in a stiff, straight-backed posture. He didn't want to know what must be racing through her head. Fiyero could not bring himself to look down, so instead he alternated between focusing on Glinda and focusing on Lilla. A heavy, tense silence filled the atmosphere of the pink bubble, and when they finally touched down and the bubble disappeared, filling Fiyero's senses with the fresh air of the forest, he could not have been more relieved.

They stood there for a minute before Glinda broke the silence. "They're going to assemble a mob soon. Something similar to the witch hunts, I suppose," she said shakily.

"You're right," Fiyero said grimly. "You may not have seen it, as you were busy helping us escape, but you threw several people off the balcony when your bubble exploded, including Esmeralda. She looked livid. And I don't know much about current Oz, but I'd say that wasn't a good sign."

"Great," Lilla said, but she sounded more terrified than sarcastic. She smoothed her skirts anxiously, looking around at the forest around them. Birds chirped excitedly to one another from their separate treetops, blissfully untouched by the trauma of the Emerald City incident. Small breezes flirted with each other and played with everything. Hair, grass, tree leaves. Small Squirrels skittered up trees, keeping their eyes on the human -and Scarecrow- intruders. It was too serene. Lilla felt almost guilty, knowing that this whole scene would be disrupted by chaos if what the Lady Glinda and Master Fiyero were speaking about happened to be true.

"So we need a plan," Glinda said, looking over herself and her enormously large dress. Layer upon layer pulled her down into the ground, where she wanted to stay until Elphaba could magically reappear beside her. That would have to be fixed. "One that doesn't involve this dress and _does_ involve finding and escaping with Elphaba before we get torn to bits." She attempted to say this calmly, and she almost succeeded until Elphaba's name left her lips. She needed to be stronger, and it wasn't working. As mature as she liked to think her eight hundred years had made her, she was a softened socialite, not at all accustomed to fleeing from angry mobs. Or fleeing anything for that matter.

"That would probably be wise. That dress has got to go," Fiyero said. Then, he blushed as fiercely as a Scarecrow could when the alternate meaning to that sentence occurred to him. "I mean, well-"

"We knew what you meant, Master Fiyero," Lilla said soothingly. "We know you love Lady Elphaba."

Fiyero and Glinda exchanged a look. Lilla didn't know anything about their past, and with a warning glare, Glinda ensured that Fiyero would not be the one to tell her about it. "Well, luckily I have just the spell for that," Glinda said, attempting to lighten the mood. "I am a quick-change master, after all."

As Glinda began humming some unintelligible tune, her dress slowly transformed itself into a matching tunic and breeches, with quite intimidating combat boots appearing to replace the heels she had worn.

"Glinda, that's brilliant," Fiyero said approvingly. "You should fix up Lilla too. And me. But there's one tiny issue."

"Yes?" Glinda asked as she examined Lilla, trying to figure out how to transfer her magic to someone else.

"Your outfit is still sparkly. It's not pink anymore, it's that sort-of-blendy shade of green, but your outfit is still sparkly."

OoOoOoOoOoO

In retrospect, looking around at the forest around her, Glinda figured that sending Fiyero and Lilla off to forage for food while she attempted to set up a small campsite was a very bad idea. Each person in the group was well aware by now that they had to be ready to pack up and go at any minute, but staying in one spot had seemed like the best idea at the moment.

After all, they still had to wait for Elphaba. Glinda wasn't entirely sure that the decision to wait was the right one, but she and Fiyero could not think of any better idea. Of course, she wasn't entirely sure that their decision was without bias either. Her heart panged again when she thought of Fiyero and Elphaba together, and she wished that she could stop that happening. She had had eight hundred years to deal with her emotions. Now was not the time to betray her family. Since that is what both of them were to her at this point.

In an effort to turn her thoughts away from Fiyero, she focused on making a makeshift tent appear in front of her. The time it took to form the hideous khaki contraption was altogether too short, and the time it took to change it to a more acceptable shade of green was even shorter. Before too long, her campsite was entirely formed, Fiyero and Lilla were still foraging for whatever they needed. She was left alone with nothing but her racing thoughts to comfort her.

She refused to go back and think of the Scarecrow again, so she turned her thoughts to the events that had transpired not three full clock rotations ago. She couldn't recall the explosion that Fiyero claimed her bubble had caused, but she wondered what might have caused it. Was her own desperation that strong? Seeing Elphaba disappear in the grip of the Ozian Guard had shaken her, most definitely. But she _was _eight hundred years old. By now, sudden surprises weren't surprises at all. Then again, it was Elphaba. And Elphaba had been gone for most of those years. Seeing her alive again was something Glinda had stopped hoping for awhile back. Maybe that was why she had reacted so strongly. Seeing Elphaba disappear again... Well, if Elphaba died again, most of Glinda would die too. One person can't take that much heartbreak in one life. Even if that life is over eight times longer than the average one.

Glinda sighed, sitting down and placing her elbows on her knees. How quickly her thoughts could become depressing. She couldn't remember her emotions ever being so drastic and confused. In fact, if she thought about it hard enough, her emotions hadn't varied too widely over the past few centuries. She did have emotions, but they seemed rather dull. It took more to make her laugh. It took more to make her sad. It took more to make her feel at all. Maybe it was what happened if you lived that long. Maybe it was sort of a self-defense mechanism. Forget your feelings so that you don't go insane.

If that were true, was the Lady Glinda that the Ozians had known before this past week really who Glinda was? Maybe the Lady Glinda that the Ozians knew now was who she always had been. Under the fog of numbness. That would explain why Elphaba's sudden reappearance would have such an effect on her.

Glinda shook her head again, trying to clear her head. She fully realized she should be thinking about how to find Elphaba again, as Fiyero had assured that Elphaba would return. The mob would not be kind if they found her first. Glinda shuddered involuntarily.

She stood up, arching her back and stretching. She really did not want to analyze her feelings at this moment. She didn't feel she could be neutral about it, surprisingly. She knew she cared for Elphaba. That had never been in question, they were practically sisters. The guilt she felt for not standing up for Elphaba could consume her on bad days. There. End of that analyzation. She knew she cared for Fiyero. She couldn't articulate the pain she had felt when he and Elphaba had run off together. She knew she still cared for him in a way that was not beneficial to anyone, especially her. There, that analyzation was over too. She knew she cared for Lilla. It was surprising that Glinda had defended her so fiercely on the balcony though. Maybe that was the maternal instinct she had never been able to use kicking in. Yes, that was it. There, everything that needed analyzing was analyzed. How quickly things go when one cuts to the chase.

She paced around the campsite for awhile, worrying for Elphaba. Then, she wondered how long it could take for two people to forage for berries. Then, she did her best not to think of anything. About an hour passed in this way. When at last she felt that she might burst with the torture of simply waiting, she sat down on a log and cried.

OoOoOoOoOoO

"I think Lady Glinda loves you, you know," Lilla said, examining another berry bush to see if the berries were ripe enough. They had been foraging for a few hours, and it seemed as if one more good handful of fruit would do the trick. Fiyero, who had been shaking an apple tree to get the red fruits to fall, stiffened.

"What was that?" Fiyero said awkwardly, an apple falling on his head and tumbling to the ground. "What would make you think that?"

"The way she speaks to you and Lady Elphaba," Lilla said simply. "She never speaks to anyone like that. She's never even spoken to me except in passing before this week."

"That's the way Glinda has always spoken," Fiyero said uncomfortably, unable to resume shaking the tree. He turned to the young girl, who was studying him carefully. He blinked and turned away again. "Ever since we've known her. Well, almost always."

"I don't think you get what I'm trying to say, Master Fiyero," Lilla said, sounding slightly frustrated. "You've been gone for eight hundred years. I'm not saying I know her better than you, that's not what I'm saying at all, but she just _doesn't _speak that way!"

"How does she speak, then?" Fiyero said, curiosity getting the better of him. He felt strange, like he was prying into an aspect of Glinda's life that he had no right to pry into.

"Well, she's usually silent," Lilla said, as if her statement was surprising, even to herself. "She really only speaks at speeches, or when some brave soul starts up a conversation with her."

Fiyero stayed quiet, motioning Lilla to continue speaking. He still didn't quite understand. "Well," Lilla said, "When she does speak, it's quite... calculating. You can always predict what she's going to say because it's always the nicest or friendliest thing you can picture someone saying in that instance. That's hardly a bad thing, but compared to what she says when she speaks to the two of you, she sounds downright emotionless. She doesn't speak as if she has any emotions, except when she's around the two of you!"

"Well, we were very close back then, Elphaba and I both," Fiyero said, relieved. Maybe he could get out of explaining things to this little girl. "She's already told me she can't get to close to anybody alive at the moment. It makes sense why she would keep her distance. She loves Elphaba in the same way she loves me. We're almost like family."

"I don't think that's the end of it though!" Lilla insisted. "Lady Glinda's acted in one way for my entire life. She acts another way when she speaks to Lady Elphaba. It's clear that they love each other. I only wish she'd speak to other people the way she does to her. She acts another way when she speaks to you. It appears to me that she tries to speak to you the same way she does to Elphaba. But after fifteen years of seeing one look in Lady Glinda's eyes, the difference between the sheer happiness in her looks at Lady Elphaba, and the pain in her looks at you are quite drastic! She looks heartbroken when you meet her eyes."

Fiyero blinked, wondering just how observant this handmaiden was. He hadn't thought that Glinda's feelings toward him involved love anymore. He figured disdain and resentment had taken over. He took a deep breath, rubbing his eyes wearily. The glare Glinda had given him to keep him from explaining this subject to Lilla had been quite fierce, but if Lilla was going to be staying with them, she had a right to know.

"Look, Lilla," Fiyero began, and Lilla immediately took a seat in the soft grass, her eyes shinging with triumph. Suddenly he didn't feel like explaining. "Glinda doesn't love me," he said, hoping she'd believe it, despite his prior assurance that they were like family. "I don't know where you got that idea. She doesn't even like me. She resents me."

"And why is that?" Lilla pressed. Fiyero wondered how she could make people want to tell her things that essentially mounted up to gossip, but then it occurred to him. She was a teenager. Fiyero sighed again. Here he was, a thirty-six-year-old man, gossiping with a teenager.

"Lilla, you have to understand that Glinda, Elphaba, and I..." Fiyero trailed off.

"Contin-" Lilla started.

"Shhh," Fiyero hissed, leaping up and clapping a hand over her mouth. "Do you hear that?"

The two of them sat perfectly still, remaining silent and listening. While they had been talking, the regular forest sounds had disappeared completely, only to be replaced with sounds of distant shouts and cracking branches.

"What is that?" Lilla whispered, terrified.

"That would be the angry mob," Fiyero whispered back. He looked up into the sky, and through the canopy of tree leaves, he could see smoke and fleeing birds. Had they set the forest on fire? "Let's get back to Glinda. Now," Fiyero said, and the pair leapt to their feet, dashing through the trees and towards the campsite.

OoOoOoOoOoO

When Elphaba reappeared in Oz, the first sound to greet her ears was unmistakably Glinda's shriek. Elphaba jumped to her feet when she remembered the company she had brought with her, and she whipped her head around wildly, looking for the boy. What she found however, was a shaking Glinda standing over the unconscious guard, one hand wiping away tears that contrasted with her surprised expression, and another poised in the air.

"What did you do, Glinda?" Elphaba asked before she could help herself.

"I punched him," Glinda said with an air of disbelief. Then, she met Elphaba's eyes and fully processed who she was talking to. Elphaba braced herself just in time, because at the moment, she received a second flying hug from Glinda. "Elphie, where did you go?" she asked incredulously, her voice slightly shaky as she pulled away.

"I went to Earth," Elphaba said, looking down at the guard and motioning towards him. "With that boy. The one you just punched out. Where are we? And why are you sparkling?"

Glinda laughed. It was a nervous laugh, the kind that emerges when people don't know how else to react. "I'm not as skilled in magic as I'd like to be," she said, examining herself again. "And I'm not quite sure, because we took off at such a high speed, but I think we're somewhere in the Great Gillikin Forest.

"Brilliant," Elphaba said, sidestepping the boy and looking around the campsite. "I see no mob around to chase us, but I also see no Fiyero and no Lilla. Where are they?" she asked, her voice slightly tinged with worry.

"They're out foraging for the food we thought we were going to need," Glinda said, following Elphaba and taking a seat on a log surrounding the fire circle she had made. "We were prepared to mount a full-blown search for you. But I guess you found us. Or, me, that is. How did you get here, specifically to me? Instead of the palace?"

"Well, I was thinking 'Glinda' when I was thinking of the location in Oz that I wanted to be at. I thought of my home in Colorado on the balcony. And when we first arrived, I was thinking Kiamo Ko," Elphaba explained, taking a seat next to her. If they were going to have to wait, and, knowing Fiyero, they were going to have to wait, pleasant conversation was the most either of them were going to be able to hope for.

"Elphaba, that's dangerous!" Glinda protested angrily, much to Elphaba's suprise. "What if I had been locked up in the dungeon?" she demanded, "Or worse, what if they were holding my execution ceremony? You could have been captured right then and there!"

Elphaba blinked. "Glin. You come up with a scenario that involves your own execution, and you're worrying for my safety? At this point, all I'm worrying about is your sanity!"

Glinda did not laugh. "I've been here eight hundred _years_, Elphaba! If I were dreading death at this point, I'd be the biggest coward in Oz!"

Elphaba, as accepting of death as she was, and as ready as she was to deal with her own, did not want to think of Glinda's. She looked sideways at the blonde, and one of the few awkward silences in their relationship followed.

They sat there for a few minutes in silence, both thinking of ways to restart the conversation. Glinda, ever curious, managed to think of something. "Elphie, how old are you?"

"Thirty-four," Elphaba said slowly. "Why?"

Glinda looked up, startled. "Elphaba, you're old!"

Elphaba looked at Glinda for a moment before bursting out laughing. "_I'm _old? Do you realize how ridiculous you sound, Miss Immortal?"

Glinda waved away the laughter with her hand. "That's not what I meant! I mean, you don't show your age! When I was at Shiz, I wanted to die at age thirty so that I could look relatively young and beautiful in my coffin! You look almost the same as you did at twenty-six, you mean thing!" She emphasized this with a slap at Elphaba's arm, but she missed as Elphaba toppled over, choking on laughter.

"I'm serious!" Glinda wailed, "When we go to Kansas- wait, this Colorado place, I had better look that good when my body is thirty-four!"

Elphaba, who had almost managed to reign in her laughter with deep gasps for breath, simply began laughing again. Glinda began giggling slightly, unable to not laugh while someone else was. They both dissolved into a giggle fit, and peals of laughter rang out across the forest. This was the second time in a day that they had done this, and considering the circumstances that had followed the first, neither of them should have been surprised when Lilla ran onto the scene without Fiyero, tears streaming down her face. Her sudden and frightened arrival caused the witches to fall silent as they waited for her explanation, but they didn't have to wait. The sounds of shouts and angry curses filled the air that had been previously filled with laughter, and one angry yell rang above them all. Ice pierced Glinda's heart, and she figured the same must be happening for Elphaba as Fiyero's voice echoed in their ears.

"He told me to run!" Lilla sobbed, small twigs nestled in her hair, and her handmaiden's apron halfway torn off her body. Both women had unconcsciously jumped to their feet, and Glinda grabbed Lilla's wrist and took off running, after a moment of hesitation. Elphaba followed quickly, her moment of hesitation lasting slightly longer.

Lilla tripped over the fainted guard's body, and started to open her mouth to form a question. "Just go!" Glinda said desperately, suddenly very thankful for the change from dress to breeches. Elphaba leapt over the log and propped him up against it, hoping that when the mob encountered him, they would not think that the fugitives had done anything to him. Maybe it would give them time if they paused to arouse him and get the story from him.

Although the urge to head straight into the mob and retrieve Fiyero was strong, Elphaba realized that doing this would ruin his attempt to save them. She knew that he had been trying to save them after all, as Elphaba could easily outrun Lilla, and Fiyero could easily outrun Elphaba in his Scarecrow form. With that in mind, she dashed forward, grabbing Glinda's hand and pulling her forward. They had to get out of the vicinity, and fast, if they had any chance of surviving to save Fiyero.

Glinda looked up as Elphaba grabbed her hand, but the green woman did not look back at her. She was pulled along at a slightly faster pace, and Lilla was pulled along behind her. Looking up at the sky, Glinda could see small tendrils of smoke snaking around the clouds stained pink by the setting sun.

She looked back at Lilla, whose face was dirtied except for the paths that her tears had cleaned. A sudden surge of anger filled her, and the same desire to protect the young woman that she had felt on the balcony surged forth. She looked forward to Elphaba again, whose eyes were narrowed. In desperation or concentration, she couldn't tell.

"Elphaba!" Glinda shouted loudly, catching her attention. The pace faltered for a moment, and Glinda took the opportunity to form her bubble and shoot into the sky.

Looking down, Glinda could see the whole mob, and her intake of breath was involuntary. Not only was the mob huge, but it seemed as if each hand held a torch. Many of the trees were burning, and the three women could see the path that the angry Ozians had taken through the forest.

Elphaba stared down at the same horrifying sight, the sudden altitude change failing to disorient her. She bit her lip, and her mind was a tumult of chaos, with precious few thoughts forming coherently. Fiyero. Fiyero, Fiyero, Fiyero.

"They're holding torches," Lilla said, the first one to realize the true danger Fiyero was in. "And they're angry. And Master Fiyero... he's made of straw!"

**I have really got to stop doing that. However, I'm off school for a week, so I can promise another chapter soon!**

**With that said, please leave a review! They're how I learn what I'm doing right. And wrong. And... well, frankly, they just make me happy. **


	10. When Good Isn't Good Enough

**Back, as promised! I hope you enjoyed that last chapter, because this chapter is... well, not that chapter. I don't know what I'm trying to say, but enjoy this chapter.**

**Chapter 10: When Good Isn't Good Enough**

Fiyero woke with a start, jumping as a small drop of water sunk into the fabric of his nose. His first reaction was to jump up, but he found that his arms were held back against the wall. He was already standing.

He examined his surroundings carefully, but the world around him was too dank and damp to see anything. The stench of mold and rotting flesh filled his nostrils, and the cracks of the cobblestones beneath him dug into the fabric of his feet. He pulled on his restraints, and was not at all surprised when nothing happened. Save the fact that his arms chafed horribly where they connected with his shoulders. He wasn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Another drop landed on the Arjiki prince's face, and he shook his head in an effort to keep it from sinking in. It did anyway, and he wondered how long he had been here. If it was more than a day, then _he_ might be the source of the moldy stink. He heard a loud yell of pain echo off the walls from somewhere along the hall, and he jumped at the sound. An angry shout followed, and the cracking of a whip sounded not too much later. The yell came again, and Fiyero hoped this would not be a continuous cycle. The yell was too human. Too close to home.

He didn't know how long he stood there, listening to screams and resisting the persistant onslaught of water drops, but it didn't take long before the sound of boots stomping angrily in his direction roused him from his unfeeling stupor.

"Mr. Scarecrow," A chilly male voice said, and he quickly pinpointed the man's location. Of course, one didn't have to be a master detective to know he was standing outside the cell. However, Fiyero could only make out the barest of silhouettes when he stared in that direction. "I trust your stay in Southstairs has been pleasant thus far?"

Fiyero wanted to come up with something snappy to say, something to make this man eat his words, but said man simply laughed at his own little joke. Fiyero nearly tore his arm off when he tried to leap towards the voice; the restraints were stone and unforgiving, and the man simply laughed harder.

"I could just leave and come back later. When you're feeling more... amiable," he said icily. "We have all the time in the world. As it's been made quite clear to us that your pair of lovers will stay in Oz so long as you are here. Touching, isn't it?" The man sniffed melodramatically, and Fiyero could feel him pretending to wipe a tear. As if on cue, another water drop hit his face.

"Pair of lovers?" Fiyero asked hostilely, although he knew what the man was going to say.

"Why, the former Lady Glinda and the Wicked Witch of the West, as she's apparently known," the man said. "You certainly do attract women of power," he said admiringly, "But what an awkward little love triangle!"

"Shut up. I don't love Glinda, and she doesn't love me. And Elphaba's not wicked, she's my wife," Fiyero growled in a low voice. He would not be tormented by an ignorant idiot. "And don't talk about either of them like that. They're people. Not objects to be won."

"Whatever you say," the man said skeptically. "It's your funeral. Literally, if the ladies don't decide to make an appearance soon. You'll be staying right where you are until then, so what do I care?" He made as if to walk off, one boot stomping the floor. When Fiyero didn't speak, the man chuckled and headed deeper into the prison, his already fuzzy figure fading quickly in the dim light. "I wonder what they see in a Scarecrow. I'd let you burn and hightail it back to wherever it was I was going if it were me," he called over his shoulder, and it took most of Fiyero's strength not to attempt to lunge out after the man.

Soon, the man's footsteps were gone, and the routine of drip-scream-shout-whip resumed. Only this time, Fiyero could not bring himself to focus on it. His mind was filled with images of Elphaba and Glinda being viciously attacked by the same angry mob who had turned their wrath on him. He shuddered and blinked, trying to force the images out of his mind.

The inhumane scream stopped for a few blissful moments, and Fiyero almost managed to lull himself into sleep. Then, the screams were replaced with another set. Fiyero's eyes tore open at the sound of them. They were altogether too feminine for his comfort.

OoOoOoOoOoO

For the second time that mattered, Glinda was airborne without a loved one. Elphaba was safe and with her, and was already in the process of making a plan, but this time Fiyero was gone. She knew the twisting, gaping hole in her chest had no right to be there, and she knew the fear and worry Elphaba was surely feeling was likely infinitely more intense, but she was afraid. Not for her sake, never for her sake. For Fiyero's sake. And Elphaba's for that matter.

Lilla trembled in what could be considered the corner of the spherical bubble. Her arms were wrapped around her legs, which were pulled up to her chest, and she watched doubtfully as Elphaba made obscure finger-drawings on the floor. The twigs in her hair shook along with her body, and Glinda wondered, with a sick feeling in her stomach, just what Lilla had seen.

"Elphie?" Glinda asked, her voice sounding pitifully weak. It reminded her of the night they had said goodbye. From the way Elphaba flinched, it seemed that the same thought occurred to her. The green woman stood up, cracked her knuckles, and turned to face the smaller blonde.

"Yes, Glinda?" Elphaba said carefully. The worry showed on her face, in the way her eyebrows were just a tiny bit off of their normal relaxed position, and the way the corners of her mouth seemed slightly drawn back in a frown. It surprised Glinda that after all this time away from her, she could still read Elphaba's expressions like no one else could.

"What do we do now?"

"I don't know," Elphaba said with a sigh, rubbing her eyes wearily. "Fiyero's in danger, and I just don't know. We can't leave him, Glin," she sounded tortured, and Glinda wondered how much she wasn't seeing. She had no clue what had gone on in the eight years, if that's how long it had been, that Elphaba and Fiyero had been together. She didn't know how dependent they were on one another.

"We would never," Glinda said firmly, and a frightening image of the Scarecrow burning at the hands of Esmeralda appeared in her mind, as if to back up her assertion.

"Don't be ridiculous, Glin. I know you hate him. Admit it, if it weren't for me being here, you wouldn't give saving him a second thought," she said. Glinda was shocked by the tone of almost-casual certainty in Elphaba's voice. Elphaba glanced sidelong at Glinda, her eyes slightly accusing.

"I, what- no! How could you even-" Glinda sputtered. She didn't know how to phrase things so that Elphaba would understand, but not comprehend how completely wrong her statement was. It figured. The first time in centuries that it really mattered that she keep calm and articulate, and she was tongue-tied.

"You don't have to defend yourself, Glin," Elphaba said, her voice filled with pain. "I feel terrible for keeping you two in the path of danger, but I just can't go back to Earth without him! I can't!"

Glinda's mind reeled with confusion. Of course she worried for Fiyero and his safety. She loved him. How could Elphaba possibly think otherwise? Then Glinda remembered. She hadn't told anybody. But one would think Elphaba would know anyway. Glinda was never good at hiding things from her. Or had she really been that neutral when she was yelling at the both of them in the throne room? How could she reassure Elphaba without turning the green woman completely against her?

"No, really, Elphaba! Listen to me!" she said, sounding a tad too hysterical to be convincing. "We would never leave without him! You love him, so he's family!"

"So if I didn't love him, he'd be free to burn at the hands of Esmeralda?" Elphaba asked, her eyebrow arching imperiously.

Glinda resisted the urge to throw her hands up in the air and scream. "Absolutely not!" she almost yelled.

"Why not, if I had no emotional ties to him?"

What a time for Elphaba to be difficult. Of course they wouldn't leave him! No one deserved to burn like that, especially if they were made of fabric. Even if Elphaba had no emotional ties to him, it would be just inhumane to leave him in the hands of an angry public intent on his death. Of course, that was the logical reasoning. "Because I love him too!" Glinda blurted, her well thought out argument remaining in her mind.

A stunned silence fell over the occupants of the bubble. Glinda was shocked that she had actually let that slip. Elphaba was shocked. Just shocked. She couldn't think. Lilla looked up from her spot on the opposite side, shocked that Lady Glinda would admit something like that.

"You... what?" Elphaba asked numbly.

"Nothing like that, I promise!" Glinda said hurriedly, "I meant, I love him like family, I mean, we did stick together while you were off being a fugitive."

"While I was off being a fugitive?" Elphaba asked incredulously, "I do hope you mean standing up against the Wizard! Doing the right thing!"

"Of course that's what I meant!" Glinda said desperately, her voice sounding entirely too shrill.

"And then when Fiyero ran off with me, went off to be a fugitive with me. The look on your face... That wasn't familial, was it?" Elphaba said, an air of realization dawning on her features. "You weren't really acting, to keep up the illusion of my wickedness, were you? I thought you were angry because we were leaving you all alone with the Wizard. And Fiyero agreed with me, but... Oh my god. You're not serious. You didn't. Glinda, you didn't really love him, did you? Like... love him? It wasn't shallow socialite love. You weren't angry at me for stealing your status symbol, you were angry because... Glinda?"

"This is not the time for this! Fiyero's in danger!" Glinda squeaked, unconsciously backing up against the wall of the bubble. She supposed she should be slightly offended that Elphaba would think that little of her, but that _was_ the image she had struggled to portray.

"Now seems like a brilliant time! They're down there watching, that mob is. They're holding him hostage to get to you and me, Glinda. What else would they be doing? Fiyero's not the one who's 'betrayed' Oz. Now tell me," Elphaba said, her voice seething with an unidentifiable emotion. "You didn't really love him, did you?"

"There's a child present! A child who doesn't know us!" Glinda said defensively. The curious look on Lilla's face combined with the somewhat disbelieving look on Elphaba's was becoming too much to take.

"Glinda!" Elphaba said frustratedly.

"I did, okay? I did love him. But he loved you, and I had no choice but to deal with that, okay?" Glinda said, her eyes wandering everywhere except Elphaba's face.

"And do you still?"

"I don't see how- I mean, I really," Glinda stuttered again, "We really don't have to talk about this. We should be making plans."

"Oh my god. You still love him, Glin!" Elphaba said disbelievingly. "You loved him and you still do. Do you know what that makes me?"

"What? No, I don't- I never, I was a stupid little schoolgirl! A ditzy blonde who didn't know real love, so only thought she was in love!" Glinda protested.

"I'm the other woman," Elphaba said, her eyes wide with shock. "I'm the other woman. I'm the one all the movie-goers hate. Oh my god."

"The whats hate?" Glinda asked confusedly before shaking her head. "Elphaba, just disregard this whole conversation, okay? It's a misunderstanding. I, I don't love him."

"Glinda, stop trying to fool everybody! It's not working!" Elphaba said angrily. "We've established what we need to know! You don't have to fight that, we just have to save him!"

OoOoOoOoOoO

Esmeralda strode up to the line of guards keeping watch over the fugitives. They all bowed to her quickly and returned to their watch. She had been transported to the front line soon after the Scarecrow had been brought into custody and placed in Southstairs. He had looked quite beaten up, and she wondered vaguely what her Ozians could possibly have done to bruise a being made of fabric. She didn't know, but the point was that they finally had a useful bargaining chip. She looked up through the cleared branches of the burned trees and saw a small pink bubble about the size of her smallest fingernail floating in the air. The clouds and sky around it were stained orange and dark pink, making it seem as if the people inside it were floating in mid-air. "What's going on up there?" she asked, to no one in particular.

"I'm not sure, your Ozness," the guard standing next to her said. He had a pair of glass magnifyers and was looking through them carefully. "They seem to be... yelling at each other. They're too high up in the sky for me to tell what they're saying though."

"And what of the hostage?"

"She's sitting on the opposite side of the contraption. Lady Glinda and the Wicked Witch seem to be arguing with each other and completely disregarding her," the man said uncertainly.

"It's not Lady Glinda anymore, Strenze," Esmeralda said tersely, trying to sound authoritative. She knew that the title was ingrained into everyone's subconscious, even her own. But the Lady had become a wanted fugitive. "She betrayed Oz. She's been stripped of her title."

"Yes, Your Ozness," Strenze said immediately. His eyes narrowed a bit as he resumed staring through his looking glasses, and Esmeralda wondered if all of her Ozians had fully processed that Glinda had betrayed them all.

"Your Ozness," another guard said breathlessly, dashing up with a scroll in his hands. He was followed by another man in flowing robes. He handed the scroll to Esmeralda and ran off to another station, leaving the man behind.

Esmeralda sighed as she looked over the man in the long navy robes littered with sparkling stars. "Magician Fliior, must you dress so... stereotypically?"

"Of course," the graying Magician said, enunciating each word carefully, as if he were speaking to someone less than intelligent. Then again, that was the way the Magician Fliior was. Unbearably obnoxious. "That is how it is done."

Esmeralda just shook her head and opened the scroll. After a quick glance at it, a smile spread across her face. "Magician, have you got your amplification spells ready?" she asked quickly. The Magician Fliior simply nodded, glaring at her as if she had underestimated his immense talents. Her smile spread even wider across her features. "Excellent. Start them up, because the catapaults are ready."

OoOoOoOoOoO

"How on earth was I supposed to know that you were anything other than a dumb blonde that was jealous that an ugly green criminal had stolen away her man-trophy?" Elphaba demanded, her anger escalating.

Glinda's eyes widened, and she blinked back tears as if she had been physically assaulted. "Are you joking Elphaba? You were supposed to know this because you're, oh, I don't know, _my best friend_?"

"Well, you know what Glinda? I didn't know as much about you as I thought, because you left me when I needed you most, became a crony of the Wizard and Madame Morrible, and then began doing everything in your power to make sure I was seen in a bad light!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Glinda said furiously, "Do you think that, for even one minute in my horrendously long life, I didn't regret not going with you? If you did, well I just don't know what to say! When you left to go defy gravity without me, I became a _slave_ of the Wizard! Everything I said was someone else's words. Can you blame me for being even a little upset that the person I wanted most desperately to defend stole away with my fiancee and then accused me of murdering her sister to get back at her for it? Nessa and I were close, because both of us had to survive without you at Shiz! _Without you_, Elphaba!"

"Well, I _apologize_ if I was just a little bit busy trying not to get killed by the people you called your friends!" Elphaba shouted. She opened her mouth to continue with another onslaught of argument, but right at that moment, they were interrupted.

"_Attention witches!_" came the booming voice of Esmeralda, almost literally shaking the bubble. All three females jumped simultaneously as the voice's numerous echoes filled their ears. _"If you want to see your Scarecrow friend alive and well ever again, you will listen carefully to all that I say." _

Elphaba and Glinda exchanged panicked glances, and Lilla stood up and joined the two, forming a straight line and looking down at the now organized army below them.

"_We know that you will not leave Oz without this Scarecrow, and we are willing to make a deal regarding him,_" Esmeralda continued smugly, as if she knew that she had them trapped. _"You will return the young woman you are keeping hostage. She will no longer be your bargaining chip. However, this is not our only demand. If you wish to see your Scarecrow alive and well, the both of you must submit yourselves to arrest and be sentenced to life terms in Southstairs. If you do, he will be set free. However, here is where you may choose your fate. If only one of you turns yourself in, the Scarecrow will be released as well. The woman who does not submit herself will be banished from Oz along with the Scarecrow, never to return. The woman who does will have a public execution in the Emerald City square. Those are your only options. Should neither of you choose to submit yourselves, and should you choose to keep the young girl hostage, the Scarecrow will be burned in the very same square, and the Magician Fliior will set the scene in the heavens, so that you may watch, no matter where you are. You see, you will not be allowed to remain in the sky. Any of these options are available, but if you don't submit yourselves, our catapaults will begin to fire on you. You have exactly one clock rotation."_

And with that, the skies fell silent again. Esmeralda's ultimatum rang in their ears. Neither Elphaba nor Glinda could speak, as both of their hearts were sinking into their stomachs, and their minds began racing. Lilla stood, dumbfounded, as the army scene below became an Ant hill of activity.

"If they thought I was a hostage, why would they have treated me like that on the balcony? That guard had a grip like shackles," Lilla said, trying futilely to defuse the tension.

"You're their bargaining chip now," Glinda said, her voice devoid of emotion. "Not that you were ever ours."

"Okay, Glinda, when I submit myself-" Elphaba began, her plan already formed.

"Are you insane," Glinda said numbly, not phrasing it as a question. "You're not submitting yourself. You're not the one they want anyway. If you submit yourself, how are any of us going to get back to Colorado? They know full well that we can't go anywhere without you. Elphaba, they think you're a criminal, but you're a criminal from eight hundred years ago. They could stand to let you simply be banished. Why would they let me go? Their plan is designed to have only one outcome, while letting it seem to the Ozians that we were given a fair choice."

The completely emotionless but almost amiable way that Glinda said this made Elphaba sick, and Lilla frowned. The ultimatum had brought the return of the Lady Glinda she knew. The friendly, agreeable statue. But to speak so casually of her own death...

"Glinda," Elphaba said, her voice thick with emotion. "You can't possibly submit yourself like that. They're going to kill you. Murder you. In public. With children watching. With _Lilla_ watching."

Glinda flinched slightly. "Do you have a better plan? Fiyero will never forgive me if I let you submit yourself. Neither of us will let him die. You know that if they catch Fiyero and me after you've been," she paused slightly, almost unable to say the word, "executed, they will simply take him back into custody and execute me. If your objective is to protect all of us, it's not going to work. Any way this pans out, I die."

"I'm not going to let that happen," Elphaba said fiercely.

Glinda smiled weakly. "Why? Am I too young to die? Elphaba, I'm tired of this. I've been alive for eight hundred years as a pawn, a figurehead for all the rulers. Never have I done a single useful thing. Saving you and Fiyero? It's the one thing I've always wished I could do, and here's my chance. Laid out almost perfectly in front of me."

"What about me?" Lilla asked, upset. "I get to see you... die? You, Lady Glinda? I have to be 'returned' in this deal no matter what. Do you think they're going to let me anywhere near Lady Elphaba after all of this? I'll be kept as a prisoner in my own home. The only thing I'll get to see is you... dying. Besides, if you don't... well, you know... survive, and Lady Elphaba does manage to find me... Well, we don't know each other! It'd be endless tension, because she and Master Fiyero would always think of Oz and you when they looked at me! I don't want that! I want you to live! Nothing turns out well for anyone if you don't live!"

Elphaba blinked. "That's very true," she said approvingly. "Glinda, you can't submit yourself. You just can't! I've already ruined enough of your life just by showing up in Oz again! I won't ruin it anymore by letting you die! You're my best friend. Like you said yourself... We're family!"

Glinda appeared to think over it for a moment. Then, her head dropped slightly, and she bit her lip to keep from crying. When she met Elphaba's gaze again, she chuckled lightly, small tears falling from her eyes. "Well don't I just sound like a drama queen. Here I am trying to save people I love, and you two manage to make me sound like an over-dramatic teen again. How do you do that?"

"I'm an over-dramatic teen," Lilla said, "It's in my job description." This time, the two witches actually laughed, albeit nervous laughter, and Lilla smiled proudly.

"With all that said and done, however," Glinda said, slightly less despairingly, "We've got a very limited amount of time to decide what we _are_ going to do. Because if none of us do anything... they'll do something about Fiyero."

"Well," Elphaba said thoughtfully. "Since you're so intent on submitting yourself, maybe that's exactly what we should do."

Lilla looked at the green witch as if she had lost her mind. "After we finally decided that doing that would be a really bad idea, you think we should go ahead with it? I can't-" she broke off uncertainly as the Lady Glinda looked at the Lady Elphaba excitedly. It seemed as if the both of them were forming a mental plan together through facial movements, and Lilla was left out.

"Elphaba Thropp, you're brilliant," Glinda said firmly.

"I know," Elphaba said, throwing her hair over her shoulder and smiling. "Toss toss," she said, in a distinctly girly fashion. For some reason, this gesture made the both of them burst into another round of laughter, and Lilla's head nearly hurt with all the things she felt she was missing.

"So what do we do?" she asked, and the two witches suppressed their laughter enough to explain things to her.

"I'm about to be the criminal Oz apparently wants me to be," Glinda began, sobering slightly.

"And we're about to help," Elphaba said, her smile turning wicked.

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Your Ozness, they're beginning to descend!" Strenze said suddenly. "Do you wish for us to dispatch a team to retrieve them?"

"No," Esmeralda said calmly, holding a hand over her eyes as she looked into the setting sun towards the quickly dropping bubble. "They still have awhile. Let them come of their own accord. Let's see what their decision is."

"As you wish, Your Ozness," the guard said, and he stood up from his post and walked along the lengthy line, informing everyone of the news.

Esmeralda smiled to herself. Although she had really truly thought that the former Lady Glinda had been simply misguided in the beginning, her mind began to fully register for the first time the extent of Glinda's betrayal. She returned to the tent that she had been offered at her arrival, and she wondered who would submit themselves. She knew that the Witch would likely try to submit herself, as she seemed the martyring type, and she also knew that if Glinda had revived her, she was not likely to let the Witch try. In the end, she sincerely hoped it would be the blonde, as the former Glinda the Good was much less terrifying than her green counterpart. And in the end, her plan _had_ revolved around Glinda volunteering herself. Oz could do without the Witch, but her Ozians would not allow someone who had been so close to their hearts and then betrayed their trust to escape with a mere banishment.

Esmeralda suddenly wondered how one went about executing an immortal. The thought of it made her chest start hurting. No matter how much Glinda had betrayed them, the love that all the Ozians had for her was ingrained since before their birth. How would Oz move on without her? Esmeralda clenched her fist and blinked as she took a seat. They were going to have to. Criminals were just that. Criminals. Allowing one to remain at the heart of Oz's society was unforgivable.

Esmeralda began thinking. She would never do something like burning Glinda at the stake. That was too awful. Hearing her scream would be unbearable for anyone, even her. A firing squad was clumsy. So many men attacking her would seem wrong, especially if the bullets did not kill her. A guillotine... Well, that seemed like a viable option.

Esmeralda pulled out a pen and began writing down options. She felt distinctly horrible for trying to think of someone's murder. She wondered vaguely if she was doing the right thing. Then, she steeled herself. The Lady Glinda had admitted herself that she had known full well what the Witch could and would do if given the chance. She had known that all of Oz and Oz's citizens had been put in mortal danger.

There was no other choice.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Glinda looked through the trees, and she found that she could see bits and pieces of the encampment through the newly burned branches. The trio had walked in silence until this point, and even though Glinda knew that she should have told Lilla and Elphaba to go, to run the other way as soon as they had touched down, she could not bring herself to do it.

Glinda stopped abruptly, unwilling to put Elphaba in any further danger. She turned slowly to face the green woman, and was hardly surprised to find that tears freely flowed from both of their eyes. "No crying this time," Glinda said teasingly, but her voice cracked and ruined the joke.

"No crying," Elphaba said, nodding and smiling. "Of course, you're always the one who starts these kinds of things. Have you noticed?" She wiped away tears with the back of her sleeve.

"I don't like goodbyes," Glinda said, but she couldn't bring herself to smile. "Please, Elphaba. Don't get killed. Stick to the plan."

"Says the woman whose middle name is Spontaneity," Elphaba said. She didn't bother with a smile either.

The hug wasn't spontaneous. Both of them knew it was going to happen, it was just a question of when. Glinda didn't want to let go, and for that matter, neither did Elphaba, but both of them felt the tension in the air, and both of them knew that to wait any longer was to put Fiyero in danger.

"Don't die," Elphaba said weakly.

"Don't die," Glinda repeated with tiny wink.

"What about me? I don't get a 'don't die'?" Lilla asked, sounding upset. However, when the two witches turned to her, she was smiling.

"Don't die, Lilla," they said in unison.

Nobody present could find another reason to stay together any longer, although all desperately wanted to. However, as time ticked by, worry and tension began building up again. Fiyero _was_ in danger. With a small nod, Elphaba took off running in the other direction. Glinda and Lilla exchanged a worried glance and walked directly toward the encampment.

Immediately, Glinda and Lilla were swarmed by guards, and five took Lilla off toward what appeared to be the nicer side of the encampment. Another fifteen escorted Glinda toward a small figure with bright red hair in the distance. If the situation hadn't been so dire, Glinda might have laughed. She was submitting herself. And she was admittedly tiny. Why did she need fifteen guards?

A few guards dropped off away from the formation as they neared Esmeralda's tent, and in the end, only four remained. "A pleasure to see you again, Glinda," Esmeralda said amiably. "I take you've submitted yourself?"

"As always, Your Ozness," Glinda said, just as amiably. "Your powers of deduction never fail to impress me."

**I think I should just give up on not writing cliffhangers. It may or may not be impossible.**

**Please leave a review! That little button down there is craving attention. I need your input! **


	11. Waiting

** Hello again! It's been faaaaar too long, I know, but guess who's on Summer Break? That's right, I am. I'm going to make a genuine effort, now that I'm back, to update every week, and with any luck, this story will be done before the summer is over. It's sad, I know. :(**

**Chapter 11- Waiting  
**

After Glinda was taken into custody, Esmeralda immediately sent several messages via courier to the Emerald City. Her Ozians were in a fury over the day's events, and she wanted them all to be able to rest assured that their betrayer was in captivity. Then, she ordered the strike of the camp. The soldiers moved with both alacrity and efficiency as they tore down the tents and disassembled the catapults. Although the sun was setting, staining the sky crimson and orange and darkening every minute, Esmeralda intended to march through the night. The ceremony would be held the next day, and she did not want the green witch intervening in an attempt to rescue the Lady Glinda.

Esmeralda walked quietly amongst her soldiers as they dashed from tent to tent, shouting at each other and rushing to get everything taken down. Underneath her feet, burnt grass and underbrush crackled noisily. She had severely admonished the soldier responsible for starting the fire, but nothing could be done about it now. It was because of this action that they captured the highly flammable Scarecrow. And it was because of the highly flammable Scarecrow that they had captured Glinda. She would never say it, but her admonishment _had_ been half-hearted. A small section of forest was a small price to pay for Oz's safety.

As she strolled through the camp, attempting to put on an air of complete control and self-assuredness, she caught several different soldiers all looking back and forth between her and the center of the camp, where Glinda stood surrounded by her former bodyguards, stony-faced and unblinking. The tiny woman looked ridiculously helpless next to the huge profiles of her guards, but the aura that she possessed was more intimidating than anything Esmeralda or the guards could hope to project. The other soldiers would look at Glinda for a moment, then look away and go on with tearing down the camp, as if they were afraid they would meet her gaze.

Esmeralda could not figure out what they were thinking, nor did she think she wanted to. She should consider their fear of the former Lady a good thing, as they would not hesitate during the execution ceremony. If they were feeling anything else, they should keep it to themselves anyway. However, as the Ruler of Oz looked on at Glinda from afar, she couldn't help but wonder what the traitor must be thinking of; what would make her so icily calm. She casually changed her direction, heading for the statue and her silent guards.

When she arrived, she gave two of the guards a short nod. They stepped aside, leaving Esmeralda face to face with the petite blonde. "One would think you would be happy that your Scarecrow and your Witch are escaping with their lives," Esmeralda said solemnly; amiability would no longer serve her purpose.

Glinda turned her gaze slightly upward to meet Esmeralda's, her eyes surprisingly dull and dark. "Of course," she said calmly, "I couldn't be happier."

The Ruler of Oz simply stared down the former Lady Glinda, feeling a silly bout of rage. "I am doing what is right," she said sternly, more to herself than the woman in front of her. She absolutely detested the feeling that she was a mere child in the face of this immortal. She was in control of all of Oz, and this woman was responsible for putting it in peril. If anything, Glinda should be feeling like a child.

However, Glinda simply inclined her head, her curls bobbing and framing her pale face. Even filthy from hours of dashing around in the forest, Glinda's features were still admittedly beautiful. "You always do," she said with the same calmness, a permanent smile on her face. Esmeralda searched the dull blue eyes for any hint of sarcasm. She found none. This conversation was disconcerting her, and she realized suddenly that this was the return of the Lady Glinda that had been present for centuries, the one that everyone knew. The Witch's presence made a subtle change in the blonde's demeanor, and now that she was gone, Glinda had changed back.

How odd, Esmeralda thought. How emotionless Glinda seemed in retrospect, more of a decoration than a person. This Glinda did not seem happy, and nor should she, yet her actions were familiar. Ozians saw happiness because they looked for it, because they knew nothing else. No wonder, then, that the Lady Glinda was capable of such a monstrous act. For whatever reason, the Witch made Glinda happy, so happy that she was willing to risk all of Oz's safety to bring her back. The loyalty, in any other situation, might have been touching. Surely Glinda must have known that bringing such a disastrous threat back to Oz would result in her execution, and yet she did it anyway. It was a confusing act. Esmeralda, tired of analyzing a criminal who was to be dead before this time tomorrow, stood for a few moments before inclining her head in return and stalking off. She had many things to think about. She had an execution ceremony to plan.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Lilla felt several emotions, none of which were clear. She was on friendly terms with the guards who were 'protecting' her, and she knew all but two of them well enough to call them by their first names, but she marveled at how foolish they all seemed.

Corin and Lat both assured her with dazzling smiles that they would protect her, but they simply laughed when she asked them from what. Another of the guards, a handsome older man named Edmar, looked on smiling, chuckling and shaking his head at Lilla's apparent foolish childishness. One of the guards she didn't know stepped in front of her, blocking her view of the center of the camp. Then, she realized with a great deal of shock that they meant to protect her from Lady Glinda.

Suddenly, she wanted to hate them, but these were people whose company she had always enjoyed. She wanted to be happy, yet she couldn't help but be frightened. Only days prior, these men had openly admired Lady Glinda, gallantly pursuing her with roses and other romantic gifts. What could possibly have been said to them, that they would suddenly hate her and want her dead? The thought of Lady Glinda dying terrified Lilla, and she couldn't understand what Esmeralda might have said that would change complete devotion to pure hatred. It was all going too fast, and it made her head hurt. She knew the plan, but she knew that the plan had revolved around the soldiers setting out for the Emerald City in the morning. That was what gave Elphaba time to get things ready. At the rate these soldiers were deconstructing the camp, they'd be done in mere minutes, and the sun had barely ducked below the horizon.

There was no question, the contingent would be marching all the way to the Emerald City over the course of the night. And Elphaba was too far away to know that.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Fiyero shook his head groggily as he slid into consciousness, and he was vaguely aware of someone shouting incoherently at him. He forced his eyes open, feeling ridiculously tired and sore from chafing. His burlap skin was damp and uncomfortable from being dripped on for however long he had been in here.

As the voice shouted at him again, he slowly gathered enough strength to lift his head, peering through the gloom. Once again, he made out the silhouette of a short, squat man waving his arms wildly. This man was very different than the sadistic torturer he had met earlier, but something in the way he yelled made Fiyero think that he was probably just as savage. He frowned confusedly as the man continued to shout strange nothings at him.

"Hey, Mister Scarecrow! Wake up already!" the man said rudely as Fiyero's eyes met his. "You want outta here or not? You're sprung, and you're lucky. You've got five seconds to answer me, or I'll tell them you don't want out."

"No, no, I want out," Fiyero said wearily, his eyes straining to see.

The man muttered something under his breath, seeming almost disappointed as he fished out a key. No doubt he had wanted to have some 'fun' before Fiyero got out, and now he was saved. He was going to see- who was he going to see when he got out? His mind was suddenly alert, and his muscles stiffened in panic. If what the torturer had told him earlier was correct, either Glinda or Elphaba had turned themselves in. Or both. Or, or... There were endless possibilities, and any possibility was a bad one. Who was he going to see when he got out?

The man reluctantly unlocked Fiyero's shackles, and when he was up close, Fiyero noted that the man was quite ugly, his teeth crooked and his face mashed in, very much like a gorilla. His grubby hands were covered in gaudy, valuable looking rings, and his breath smelled putrid as he continued mumbling to himself. Fiyero broke away from the wall and the man, rubbing his wrists with more than a little relief. He let the man guide him out of the cell and out of Southstairs, his mind racing. Glinda or Elphaba. Glin or Fae. Who would he never see again?

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Glinda said nothing. Glinda marched. Glinda thought. Glinda worried.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Lilla walked behind her guards silently, and she wondered if they were actually there to protect her, or if they were there to keep her from running away. They chatted easily with each other, casually, and Lilla wondered how they could possibly be so calm in the face of what was coming. She and her former friends, as she would no longer associate with them, marched at the head of the contingent, leading the way while Lady Glinda marched in the middle, surrounded by the entire army on all sides. The Ruler of Oz was not five paces in front of Lilla, stalking along calmly and looking very engrossed in her thoughts. She wondered briefly how she, a mere handmaiden, had gotten tangled up in this web of power. The three most powerful people in Oz had all talked to her in the last few days, and in the Ruler's case, had used her to get things done. Lilla wasn't sure she liked that.

"How are you doing, young woman?" Esmeralda asked, suddenly looking back at Lilla as if she had heard Lilla's thoughts.

"It's Lilla," she said quietly, relying on her timid reputation to pull her through. She did not want to speak to the Ruler; the taller woman was quite intimidating.

"So it is," Esmeralda said with a smile, turning back to face the road and her own thoughts. Lilla was baffled by the short conversation. Was it the Ruler's attempt to make Lilla feel better? The Ruler apparently thought Lilla had been a hostage, after all.

The fifteen year old girl shivered, though the night was not particularly cold. She was afraid for the next day and what it would bring. She wished she had someone to hold her; someone to protect her. Lilla thought back, trying to remember her mother holding her tight, keeping her safe. She tried and tried, but the only image that appeared in her mind was the Lady Glinda wrapping her arms around Lilla the night before the speech.

She didn't know what to do; she didn't know what to think. She was afraid, and she just wanted to leave. She never thought that she'd willingly want to leave Oz, but it was the people that made the place, and Lilla did not want to stay around these people anymore. Colorado sounded like an infinitely more interesting place, full of people who wouldn't want Lady Glinda dead. As she stared up at the familiar Ozian stars, she wondered vaguely what the constellations would look like on Earth. There was the Lion, and there the Tin Man, and there the Dog and the Ruby Slipper. Would those same constellations roam the night sky in Colorado? She paused, struck by the thought that they might not even get to Earth. It would all depend on Lady Elphaba's success. She worried about the Lady Elphaba, and her mind wandered to the confrontation between the two witches up in the bubble before she could help herself. She had witnessed something intensely personal between the two, and it had been astounding how quickly they went from shouting at each other to tearfully parting, never wanting to leave each other. It was something she'd never seen before, and she wondered if she'd ever find a best friend like that.

"Hey, Little Bit, why so serious?" Lat asked with a smile as he glanced back at her, his wavy hair falling in his face.

"Yeah, we won!" Corin continued, flashing the same smile. The resemblance between the two was amazing, though Lilla knew they were merely good friends. She did her best to smile back at them, though she refused to say anything awful about Lady Glinda.

"What did we win?" she said cheerfully, and she wouldn't lie to herself and say that she didn't enjoy watching their faces fall in confusion. As much as she loved them, they weren't the brightest people she knew, and it was likely that they were mirroring Her Ozness's opinions instead of making their own.

"Well, Oz is safe now," said one of the guards she didn't know. He spoke seriously, and he appeared quite old, though Lilla couldn't really tell through the dark of the moonless night. Corin and Lat both nodded vigorously, indicating that Lilla should listen to him.

She had no answer for the old soldier, so she simply remained silent until the men shrugged and turned forward to march. She shot a furtive look back in Lady Glinda's direction worriedly, but all she saw was a solid line of soldiers, all unfamiliar in the dark. She certainly hoped that Lady Elphaba was out there somewhere, following behind. For Lady Glinda's sake, if nothing else.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

After Elphaba ran off in the other direction, she forced her mind away from worrying about Glinda and focused on the more important task at hand. She would run directly away from the encampment until she was sure that no patrol would spot her. Then, she would loop all the way around them and hope to be back in the Emerald City before the contingent even reached the main road in the morning.

However, she had to get far enough away first. She knew there was a river somewhere near; she had seen it from her perch, high up in Glinda's magnificent bubble. If she could find it, she could cover herself in mud and look more like a Quadling than a green girl. And of course, that was part of the plan.

As she tore through underbrush, twigs and branches snagging at her hair and ripping the dress Glinda had picked out for her, she desperately wished she had her old, indestructible dress; the one she had been famous for. It was extremely useful and much more comfortable than this white, sequined contraption.

Before Elphaba could think about it much longer, the very dress she was thinking of formed around her body, immediately shutting out the the scratching twigs. After her initial shock, she realized just how nervous she was. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, and worry for Glinda, Fiyero, and Lilla kept her moving forward at a faster pace than she could usually maintain. Her magic was always fueled by need, and she pondered this with interest as she continued dashing through the trees, no longer distracted by savage trees.

Her magic could be harnessed by the Grimmerie, by incantations that didn't require any level of desperation at all, and this was what she learned in her sorcery class, before she'd realized just how awful the Wizard and his Press Secretary could be. However, she still had outbursts of magic that she didn't purposely initiate, and this was one of those cases. It worked for Nessa, it worked for Fiyero, it worked for her, and she supposed she should be grateful that she hadn't yet needed to use it for Glinda. Although, considering the events that had just transpired, she might have to. Very, very soon.

Elphaba was torn out of her reverie by the mud that squelched under her feet. She was not ten feet from the river, and she might have dashed right in if not for the blessed dirt. She looked down at it, noting with a little discomfort that it was much more brown than the rusted red skin of the Quadlings. However, she'd have to make do. She'd probably be able to convince a few people in the Emerald City that she came from down south, as she hadn't seen any Quadlings there, despite the centuries it had been since she was last there. If they hadn't integrated by now, they most likely wouldn't, and Elphaba would bet that most of the Emerald City-goers had never seen a Quadling. However, even though it might be unrecognizable, it was better than her current verdigris, which was frighteningly familiar to everyone once again.

She wasted no time disguising herself, insuring that the layer of mud was smooth and would not flake off easily. She needed to be careful if this was going to work, and she hated the idea that her plan was not solid and depended on this mud. However, she finished the work quickly, setting off towards the Emerald City at a slower pace. She would not allow twigs to scratch her face and ruin the mud she had tried so carefully to perfect.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Fiyero looked up at the night sky, eerily devoid of stars in the glare of the Emerald City's innate brilliance as he stepped out of the gloomy dungeon that was Southstairs. He looked around confusedly; he had expected it to be day time. He saw three guards standing, arms folded sternly and waiting for him with emotionless faces, but neither Elphaba nor Glinda were with them. The gorilla man next to him cackled vindictively.

"What, you thought you were going to see lover-girl now?" he asked incredulously. "No, you're the bait. You don't get her until the other lover-girl's dead and gone!" He snickered wildly, and Fiyero wondered just how mentally insane this man was.

"Which lover-girl?" Fiyero asked urgently, imploring all four of the people present. "Which one?" He knew that neither Glinda nor Elphaba would willingly let the other go. He felt awful, but he desperately wished that Elphaba would give in for once and let Glinda save them. He felt truly awful, but Elphaba was his wife. He couldn't help it, and he shouldn't have to help it.

The three guards remained silent, staring him down while the sadistic gorilla cackled again. "One of them," he said slyly, enjoying himself immensely. "One or the other!" he clarified at Fiyero's glare. Fiyero sighed. He wouldn't be getting anything out of this man. He turned back to the guards, but the only thing he got were stares. Had they never seen a Scarecrow before? Or was there something else going on? He just wanted to know if Elphaba was safe.

"Time to go," the guard in the middle said gruffly, though he wore no watch to tell him the time. Fiyero, as a former Captain of the Guard, had always made kindness to hostages, for that's what Fiyero was, a necessary part of Gale Force conduct. He couldn't help but feel a little bitter, and he wondered what the guards would say if they knew that he was once in charge of their organization.

They led him toward the Palace in silence, and he almost wished they would speak to him, that they would say _something_. Then he would be distracted. All he could do was think of Elphaba. Elphaba and Glinda and Lilla. What was going to happen? Had Lilla even escaped? What he had been told was hardly sufficient. He could only pray to all the gods he could think of that things would turn out all right.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The dull glow of the Emerald City shone in the distance, set like a jewel against the brilliance of the flickering stars above. Glinda watched the scene, taken in by its beauty. They had been marching for hours and hours. Her feet ached with the effort, though she hadn't dared speak a word. She would receive no sympathy, nor would she expect any. The shining jewel that was the Emerald City was full of Ozians who hated her, who felt betrayed by her. She would not regret her decision to cut off their affections from her. They would not be devastated if she left now.

But then... They would be devastated in a completely different way.

Glinda mentally shook her head free of these thoughts. She would feel safer once she was with Elphaba, Lilla, and Fiyero in Colorado. She would have to trust that Elphaba would be able to save Fiyero and Lilla in time. They had both agreed, though Elphaba was hesitant, that Fiyero and Lilla were to be the first priority.

In the coming day, they would hold her execution ceremony. She'd never dreamed, even for an instant, that it would come. She'd never dreamed she'd be ready for it. She took a deep breath, one of the first sounds she'd made all night, and one of the guards flinched. Were they so fearful of her? She was exactly the same person. A lie was the only thing that made her appear different. A sickening feeling haunted the pit of her stomach, but Glinda forced it away. After eight hundred years, she still had a certain self-centeredness, a certain childish way of dealing with things that had always been a part of her. No matter what any other Ozian saw, Glinda was not the ultimate example of power and wisdom. She was not born with either. What she had was experience, and anyone else could surely be more wise and intelligent and powerful than she if they had the same lifespan.

Once more, Glinda had to interrupt her train of thought to prevent herself from going insane. She trusted Elphaba with her part of the plan. She worried for Lilla and Fiyero. Even if something were to go wrong and Glinda did end up dying, she could at least die knowing that the three people she loved were safe.

What she worried for the most, however, was Oz. Had she just thrown it into turmoil for a self-centered reason? The night sky spread overhead in every direction, stars glittering brightly at her. They would still be the same tomorrow night, but Oz wouldn't, no matter what happened. She might never forgive herself if her Ozians suffered too much on her account. She'd violated their trust. Would they build it up, would they be able to trust another authority figure ever again?

Glinda's head began to ache, and she could do nothing else but think. The Emerald City was still a good hour away. And Glinda could do nothing but think.

**That's the end of this chapter. I sincerely hoped you enjoyed it, because next chapter, things get a little more heated. Any and all reviews would be very much appreciated!**


	12. When Good Turns To Dust

**This chapter's very intense, so I think I'll just skip the obligatory introduction. ._.**

**Chapter 12: When Good Turns to Dust**

The sun slowly crept above the horizon, heralding the dawn of a cloudless day. The sky was becoming a lighter blue with every passing second, and the horror Fiyero felt grew just as quickly. He stared out his window blankly, seeing Elphaba and Glinda, writhing in pain and reaching out for him instead of his own reflection. He wondered what was happening; which of the two women was coming back with him, and if they'd even be able to get back. Would he be stuck in Oz if... if Elphaba were... How quickly things had floated straight out of his control. His stomach tied itself into knot as he worried.

He had never wanted this. He'd wanted to go home straight after their reunion with Glinda. If they had done so, sure it might have emotionally damaged Glinda. For awhile. It was far better than anyone losing their lives. This was what Elphaba's insane plan had devolved into. Chaos.

As Fiyero had been escorted to the Palace by his guard, he had been surprised to note the amount of people on the streets at so late an hour. All of them recognized him, and their faces varied from infuriated to confused, and he was only slightly comforted by the fact that the confused vastly outnumbered the infuriated. Perhaps a deal could have been struck? But, no. His guards had informed him that he would be reunited with Mystery Woman after the ceremony was held. The ceremony was not being held by the masses, it was being held by the Ruler of Oz, who certainly bore irreversible anger towards the two witches, for some unknown reason.

Oh, right. The women had told everybody that they were there to murder them.

If Glinda wanted to make sure that no one would grieve for her absence, that was magnificent and selfless of her. It would have worked if Elphaba had not been separated from them. However, it hadn't worked, and Fiyero could only regret that he hadn't objected to the plan more strongly.

Fiyero, restless, rolled out of the bed where he had spent a sleepless night and paced. He knew guards were standing outside, ready to take him down if he should make an attempt to escape. He loathed the feeling that he was a bargaining chip; and instrument of... someone's... death. That was the only reason he was being guarded so fiercely. There was nothing he could do but sit.

But he couldn't do that either. His room overlooked the courtyard, and hardly by coincidence, he supposed, and a crowd was slowly gathering. People wanted front-row seats, he thought bitterly. The sound of this crowd's murmurs were awful enough to bring him close to vomiting. They were there to see the death of one of the women he loved.

He was on the verge of throwing everything he could lay his hands on out the window when he heard sounds of a struggle outside. There was a shout, quickly muffled by the attacker, and then two loud thumps against his door. Then, the door slowly opened, the two unconscious bodies spilling into the room. Fiyero looked up from the two guards, startled into silence.

A thin, very dark Quadling man in the uniform of the Ozian Guard stepped in carefully, eying Fiyero with something akin to joy. The man opened his mouth to speak, and Fiyero was nearly blown off his feet by the sound and the words that came out.

"Time to go, dearest," Elphaba said, grinning widely underneath her disguise. "Lilla and Glinda have arrived, and we have people to save."

Without a further word, or explanation, Elphaba turned, pulled the guards into the room and out of her way, and walked out calmly. Fiyero followed, dumbfounded as he closed the door to his prison. They weren't walking at a quick pace at all, after such a motivational sentence on Elphaba's part, and it was too early in the morning for a Scarecrow's brain to be expected to work. "Elphaba, what-" Fiyero began, but he was cut off by an uncharacteristically harsh glare from his wife.

"Quiet, Scarecrow," she said gruffly, her voice lowered to sound like a man's. Fiyero caught on almost immediately, though his mind was suddenly alert and full of questions. How had Elphaba gotten here? How had she made herself look like a Quadling? How had she gotten the uniform of an Ozian guard? Were there more unconscious guards laying sprawled out across the castle?

He had so many questions, but one of them seemed to force its way to the surface repeatedly. How were they to save both Lilla and Glinda if, by Fiyero's judgment, they had a little over half an hour before the ceremony began? They would have to move quickly. More quickly than the snail's pace they were going right now.

"Sir," Fiyero said unconvincingly, trying and failing to play into Elphaba's ruse. "Where are we going?"

"The other side of the castle," his wife said shortly, saluting a fancily-dressed man that passed them in a hurry, no doubt eager to get to the ceremony. The man nodded back, pretending to recognize the man Elphaba was supposed to be before moving on urgently. Once he was gone, Elphaba began speaking quickly under her breath, so quietly that even Fiyero, with his close proximity, had to struggle to hear.

"Glinda's ceremony is to take place at eight. That's about half an hour away, roughly," she said hurriedly. "Lilla is on the other side of the castle, probably so that something like we're attempting won't happen. Most of the guards are already in place around the square, and the guillotine is already set up. I know where Lilla is, but only a select few guards and Esmeralda know where Glinda is right now. When we reach the doors, you continue straight. She's up on the second floor, in the third room to the right. She's only got one guard, and he should be waking up soon, so do what you must. After you get her, leave immediately. Meet us just outside the Emerald City North Gate; I'm going to have to save Glinda just before the ceremony happens, so you have to be ready to go, as we're likely going to be pursued. Got it?"

Fiyero whispered an affirmative, his mind reeling. Elphaba certainly had a plan, but it relied too much on chance, and he didn't like it. Lilla and Fiyero might not even make it out of the Palace. As if sensing his discomfort and uncertainty, Elphaba turned back and shot him a pleading, almost desperate look. Fiyero nodded slowly, though he made sure that his face displayed his anxiety.

All too quickly, the huge oaken doors came into sight, looming ominously as sounds of unsettled conversation trailed in from the other side. Elphaba turned on her heel and nodded at Fiyero, and Fiyero grabbed her shoulders. "Fae, I love you," he said. "I want you to be safe. So make sure that you're careful, alright?"

"Love you too, Yero," Elphaba said solemnly, locking eyes with him before scanning their surroundings to ensure no one was watching. She could wait no longer, and she gently pushed Fiyero towards Lilla's quarters and made sure he was out of sight before she strode out the doors confidently and to the 'post' she had created for herself.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Glinda sat in her old room, perched on the edge of the bed and staring blankly at the door, if only to escape the harsh stares of her seven guards. This intense silence had permeated the room for hours, only strengthening as time ticked by. She was vaguely aware of the room growing lighter, though she refused to acknowledge that it had any effect on her nerves. She would be calm and composed, as her former position dictated, and she would have faith in Elphaba's ability to get things done, despite the changing of the circumstances.

She knew Lilla's new room was on the other side of the castle, far away from her, but she wished she could see the girl right now. It'd remind her that there was a plan, that there were people there for her, that she wasn't isolated in this one room, forgotten by the entire outside world. She almost felt that the growing sound of the crowd outside her window was not because of her, that the world was simply going about its normal business, leaving her alone in this awful silence.

Worry filled her stomach, churning wildly and making her feel ill. If something went wrong, Elphaba, Lilla, and Fiyero could all die. But she suppressed that idea; that was not having faith in Elphaba. She shifted, crossing her legs, and her guards flinched at the sudden movements.

"I'm still the same," she said after an irritated pause. "It's your perception of me that's changed. Do stop acting like children and understand that I couldn't hurt any of you if I wanted to." She waved at herself dismissively. Esmeralda had not wanted Glinda to wear one of her usual outfits, so Glinda was clad in a simple cloth dress with an infuriating lack of glitter, bereft of shoes, her curls hardly bouncing at all. She had none of the glitz and glamour she was known for, and that was one of her most intimidating features besides her impressive age.

A younger guard opened his mouth to speak, to answer her, but a glare from one of his elders made him fall silent. She would get no reply, it seemed. The silence continued, its intensity undeterred by Glinda's interruption. Now, even more so than before, it seemed unbearable. But she would endure. And she would keep her mind carefully blank. Her worry, her fear; they were not welcome.

A short, piercing knock on the door startled everyone, and they all jumped together, Glinda included. After a pause, Esmeralda herself strode in, and her guards rose and bowed respectfully. Glinda simply remained in her sitting position on the edge of the bed, inclining her head at the fierce woman in front of her. She had never bowed before, and she certainly wouldn't start now. Esmeralda walked straight up to her, offering her hand. "Time," she said simply, and no further elaboration was needed. Glinda stood up, ignoring the hand, and Esmeralda's eyes narrowed only slightly before she turned and led the eight people out of the room. The silence, the suffocating silence, continued. It muffled the sound of their steps, and everything seemed quiet and surreal as they paced down the stone hallway. She looked around at her guards, all of whom were in a circle, trapping her inside. Their solemn faces matched her own, and a gnawing fear took to her stomach with a vengeance.

Would she die today?

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Fiyero found Lilla's room with no trouble. His shoes made thunderous noises in the eerie silence of the stone hallways, but the castle was deserted; no one was there to hear. He tried to ignore the implications of that as he arrived at Lilla's door. The guard stationed there was knocked out, a frightening bruise beginning to blossom on his forehead. Lucky that the castle _was_ deserted, or every guard in the Emerald City would be on high alert.

Fiyero knocked once, but there was no answer. He knocked again, and he still received no answer. "Lilla, are you there? It's me, Fi-" he began tentatively, calling through the door, but as soon as he spoke, the door flew open, and Lilla threw her arms around Fiyero's neck.

"Master Fiyero!" she cried, close to tears and shaking like a leaf. "I'm so glad you're here; I was so worried about Lady Elphaba and Lady Glinda, and I've been so afraid and no one would talk to me and I thought you were another guard, but I heard Lady Elphaba attack the last one and I thought she and Lady Glinda would be in trouble and-"

"Lilla," Fiyero said soothingly, pulling apart her death-grip on his neck. "It's alright. We have to go now, have to get out of the Emerald City, okay?"

Lilla nodded emphatically, realization dawning on her face. "Oh, yes! That was the next part of the plan, wasn't it?" At Fiyero's patient nod, she ran inside her room, emerging with her shoes and practically jamming them on her feet. "Let's go then!" she said urgently, her face a mixture of fear and anticipation. Fiyero frowned. This was just a girl. How awful that she must endure all this. She was rather like Elphaba; too many experiences far too soon. He turned and dashed down the hallway, motioning for Lilla to follow him. She did, and they dashed through the deserted castle, toward the back entrance that he and Elphaba had first gotten into the Palace from. It would take them through the alleys of Emerald City, through the rougher parts of town, but most of the citizens would be at the courtyard, or in the square. They might make it to the North Gate without even being seen.

He still did not feel comfortable as they sailed through the castle unnoticed. Glinda's execution ceremony was impromptu, yes, but how would Elphaba disrupt the whole ceremony enough to throw off the whole Ozian Guard, all of the citizens present, and the neurotic Ruler of Oz long enough to reach Glinda and escape to the North Gate unharmed? His wife was always resourceful, but he couldn't help but worry about her. And Glinda. If he were going to be realistic, which he usually was, he'd either see the both of them together, or neither of them ever again. It was a daunting thought.

He did his best to push the thoughts out of his mind, and as Lilla began running side by side with him, he saw the determination in her face. She was loyal to Glinda, so her life was just as endangered as his. And if, when, Glinda and Elphaba arrived at the North Gate, Glinda would be furious if Lilla was not in perfect condition. So he would focus on protecting her.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

It was not cold outside, it was not hot. It was a perfect day, the sun rising in a cloudless sky; the towering gems that were Emerald City buildings surrounding the courtyard on all sides. Each step Glinda took echoed in her ears, and every little movement caught her eye as she, her seven guards, and the ceremonial guards that had joined the group entered the yard behind Esmeralda. The woman in the corner, shielding her child's eyes preemptively, though the child squirmed and writhed to escape her grasp. The men near the front, their arms folded and their feet apart, as if holding her accountable for the lines of tension that danced across their faces. The birds in the sky, flying far above the growing crowd, oblivious of any human issue.

She longed to be up there, flying with them. Away from this. Maybe Elphaba would be there too. Silently, she scanned the crowd, searching futilely for her friend. She knew Elphaba would be in disguise, so she would not find that familiar green face to comfort her. She could only pray that Fiyero and Lilla were safe; that Elphaba had made it to the Emerald City at all.

Ice seemed to fill her inside as the crowd hushed. Every muscle was alive, screaming at her. She did not fear death, but this ceremony was another thing altogether. She had not expected an execution. And if she had been, she would not have expected it so soon. She had only meant for her Ozians not to miss her. She did not want them to watch her die, to think she deserved that. But was it possible to have one without the other?

Esmeralda stepped up to a podium that was set up next to the guillotine itself. She would be making a speech, it seemed. Glinda stood, gathering all her strength to keep herself from trembling. She looked out at her Ozians, and all their eyes were locked on Esmeralda as she began to speak.

"Ozians," she said solemnly, her voice echoing through the courtyard and shaking Glinda's very bones. She wanted to run, now that the moment was here. She could not be composed, she could not be calm. She could not be Glinda the Good. She wanted to run, to find Elphaba and run.

A screen flickered into the sky as Esmeralda spoke, reflecting her image into the spotless atmosphere. Of course. Not all the Ozians would be in the courtyard. There would be citizens all across Oz watching, just as they watched all of Glinda's speeches. Glinda looked up, and she could see herself behind the strong figure of Esmeralda in the picture, her face pale, and her hair framing her face and falling limply to her shoulders, her limbs shaking only slightly. Would she see herself die, then?

"You all know why we're here," Esmeralda said, as though it were difficult to continue. "I would not give you a speech that would glorify my actions, nor would I give you a speech that looked back on all the fond moments we've had with... our Lady Glinda."

The crowd murmured, and Glinda numbly watched herself on the screen as her head shook slowly, independently of her mind. No, she had Elphaba in this crowd. She wouldn't be dying. The crowd seemed to take the shake of her head as denial, and they whispered amongst themselves before Esmeralda continued.

"I regret that this must happen," Esmeralda said, and Glinda supposed she meant it. Her frayed nerves, however, did not give her a mind toward sympathy. "And though this dreadful turn of events has given our Ozian nation a terrible jolt, I do still firmly believe that, if she so wishes, Glinda may be given a chance to speak to you."

At this, Esmeralda turned to Glinda, though the blonde in question still had her eyes transfixed on the image in the sky, almost in a state of shock. It took a harsh shove from one of her guards to pull her back into her own thoughts, and she stepped forward and up the wooden stairs. Each stair creaked loudly, making Glinda flinch, and her thoughts raced.

First step. What if Elphaba didn't make it? What if she hadn't seen the guards setting off and still thought she had time to run back to the Emerald City? What if she was running back now, far too late? Her hands shook at the thought, and she bit back nervous tears. What a time to lose composure. The last time the citizens of Oz would ever see her, and she would be as hysterical as a banshee.

Second step. What would happen to Fiyero and Lilla? Esmeralda had told her, up in the bubble, that Fiyero and Elphaba would be reunited and banished, but what of Lilla? Would they leave her there? It was surely Glinda's own feelings that made Lilla a necessary companion in America. What would Fiyero and Elphaba do if they could not save her? Lilla would stay miserable in Oz, because of her perhaps misplaced loyalty in an uncertain and unstable immortal. A lump formed in her throat, and she didn't think she could speak at all, even if that was really what she desired. Which it most certainly wasn't.

Third step. Last step. Her mind raced with thoughts, none of which were the type that someone might predict were they, say, looking at her from the outside. She did not fear death. But perhaps she feared the idea that no one would care if she died. A silly thought, considering that was exactly what she had attempted to ensure in the first place. But intentions and how people feel about intentions are two different things. Maybe it was sick and twisted revenge on herself for never going with Elphaba and defying gravity with her. If she had, they'd have been together in America for eight years now, rather than spending these eight hundred years alone. And she can't have been that beloved, if the Ozians would turn against her so quickly. Granted, she had convinced them that she had risked all their lives, but it had taken _her_ years to do something about the Wizard's wickedness.

Glinda stepped lightly across to the podium, not wanting to hear the dreadful squeaking of the wooden floorboards. It would only jar her even more. Esmeralda stepped aside, ever so graciously offering her the microphone. Glinda stared out at the silent crowd that waited with bated breath before casting a brief glance at her image in the sky. She did not look as terrified as she felt. She looked like a statue, an emotionless being that certainly could bring about the death of a whole population. Despite her small stature.

Her eyes returned to her audience, each adult's face drawn with tension, each child in awe, oblivious of the significance of the event. The lump in her throat grew larger, painfully attacking her vocal cords. Could she even speak? Did she want to? Of course she did. If she didn't, she'd be forced into the ceremony immediately, and she didn't see a sign of Elphaba interrupting yet.

Glinda held a shaking hand to her neck for a brief moment, wondering if she could feel the lump from the outside. She couldn't. So it was imaginary, and she would need to gather up the strength to speak. The audience waited, not a single whisper carrying through the silence. The city sounds were not there; their creators were all standing here, silent as the grave.

"I'm," she began, trying to force away the strangled note in her voice. It sounded shrill and choked, not her own. She was not Lady Glinda the Good anymore, she remembered with despair. She did not have the power, and she'd been stripped of the title. She was merely... Glinda. "I'm sorry," she continued. She felt so upset, so tired of lying, but her every nerve was on fire, her eyes searching frantically for that familiar face. Where was she? Now was the time.

The crowd moved slightly, murmuring. "What more could I say?" she said slowly, pausing after each word as if she could go no further. "I hurt you all, let Elphaba terrify you all, ruined the trust you all had in me." Ever the snail's pace. But she could not speak with her regular eloquence. Panic and guilt would not allow her to. Where was Elphaba? "I hope that you will... be able to trust _someone_ as much as you did me. And I hope that your trust will be well founded."

Glinda did not think that she could continue any longer. Her Ozians- no, the citizens of Oz were not moved. Upset, yes. Angry, yes. But hardly forgiving. However, in the first stroke of luck she'd had in the past week, she didn't have to continue. Behind her, there was sudden movement and a few shouts. She recognized them all. Strenze, Krin, Edmar, and... her heart froze. Elphaba's voice. She turned around quickly, her mirror in the sky doing the same. Krin and Edmar were already on the ground; whatever Elphaba had done, she had done it quickly. It took a moment for her to realize that the thin Quadling man was the green girl in disguise, but once she did, her heart soared with relief. She nearly fell back against the podium as Strenze and the five other guards leaped toward Elphaba, their spears at the ready. She screamed and jumped at the guards herself, punching one of the new guards in the face. He fell like a stone, and she turned, her arms flying toward another guard. She heard a louder noise coming from the crowd, and she realized what her actions must look like. They would not recognize Elphaba in her current state, as thinly and as smoothly as the mud was spread. They would see Glinda leaping into a fight, with guards twice her size, for no obvious reason. She ignored these shouts; she would not let the guards hurt Elphaba.

She managed to attack two other guards, but more rushed in immediately, crowding around and grabbing at her. She flailed wildly, screaming for Elphaba. She heard Esmeralda shouting something incoherent, and terror flared up inside her. They were tearing her away from Elphaba, from her one hope and her best friend. Just like on the balcony.

"Elphaba!" she screamed, struggling under the grip of five different guards, with ten more at the ready. Twenty held back the audience that had deemed it fit to charge the guillotine, and Glinda could barely hear Elphaba's own shouts over the awful sounds that filled her ears and reverberated in her mind. It was complete and utter chaos, and it had developed in mere seconds.

"Get away, do you hear?" Glinda shouted, and she tore her left arm free and sent it flying. She felt it make contact with something in a sickening crack, but her arm was immediately recaptured. She could see, just barely, Elphaba fighting back several guards, as yet unrestrained. The guards fighting her were probably having trouble with their own confusion, as Elphaba was dressed just like them. Despair filled Glinda, so that she was nearly brimming with hopelessness. Twenty guards and counting separated her from the green woman, and it seemed their plan had failed, that everything that could have gone wrong, did.

Elphaba caught sight of Glinda, who was screaming wildly, and her face contorted with fury. She pushed at one of the guards, and he flew toward them, hitting the guard that held Glinda's right arm. They both fell, and Glinda's arm was pulled down with them. She felt the sockets that connected her shoulders to her arms pull painfully as the other guard still standing held her tight, and this time it was _her_ arm that cracked sickeningly, red-hot pain lancing up her shoulder and invading her head as her arm twisted, caught and bent between the weight of the two men.

She let out a scream that hardly sounded her own, and with the scream, the world seemed to slow down. Elphaba practically exploded with anger, knocking back all the guards that fought her in a flash of green light. They flew in slow motion, though Elphaba remained frighteningly quick. She sped toward where Glinda was being held, pushing the two guards off her arm, and striking the guard that still held her before even shock could register on his face. She looped her arm around Glinda's waist and lifted her off the ground, smoothly taking off toward the edge of the courtyard, while the crowd roared and the flying guards soared through the air. Glinda could barely focus on anything. Sharp pain clouded her vision, though she still saw every small movement with frightening clarity, and the whole world continued to move in slow motion as Elphaba raced passed it all, her rage still evident on her mud-stained face.

Once they reached the edge of the courtyard and dashed into the castle once more, headed for the back entrance, Glinda heard the sounds of the crowd resume a normal pace, and she knew it was only a matter of time before they began pursuing the runaway duo. Elphaba took only a moment to set Glinda down, taking the blonde's good hand in her own and dashing away at a much quicker pace. It would be a race then. A race to Fiyero and Lilla, with death waiting for them if they lost.

Glinda's heart screamed, though her vocal cords would work no longer. This was what should have happened that day in the Wizard's Palace, she thought through the sharp pain in her elbow, wrist, and shoulder. So this was what it felt like to defy gravity. It was awful and terrifying and exhilarating.

Her arm throbbed painfully with each jolt that arose when her feet hit the ground. Her heart pounded with every footfall, and she was only kept moving by the tug on her hand that signified Elphaba was there to help her. Maybe they could make it, but the sounds of the crowd echoed through the halls, confusing and terrifying her. She stumbled along numbly, her mind racing as she worried for Elphaba, as she worried for Fiyero, as she worried for Lilla. They would be waiting. Glinda straightened her back a little, and she caught herself, changing the stumbling into a straight-out sprint. Elphaba, surprised, took only a moment to readjust, and the two witches ran side by side as the sounds of a gigantic mob echoed through their ears.

**Oh my. Still a few more chapters to go, it seems! Any and all reviews would be welcomed. ;D**

**Translation: Click the little button down there!**


	13. Time Doesn't Change Anything

** Dearest darlingest readers: I am SO SORRY. If there's ever been a person who's really good at writing cliffhangers and then not writing at all for several months, it's me. However, if you are all still here, I'd like to present you this chapter as my apology gift. I hope you like it.**

** Chapter 13: Time Doesn't Change Anything**

There was a lot of running. And there was a lot of pain. In fact, there was too much pain. Too much fear. And _way_ too much running. These were the things that flooded Glinda's mind as she and Elphaba dashed down the cobblestone streets of the Emerald City. Pure emotion, nothing else, penetrated her brain. She couldn't think for the growing noise of the crowd behind her. She couldn't breathe for the excruciating pain in her shoulder, her elbow, her wrist. She simply ran as Elphaba held tight to her good hand. The terror Glinda felt was nowhere to be seen on the green woman's features, which were arranged into a forced neutrality.

Every time she blinked, the sound of the shouts, the screams, and the jeers grew louder, and she flinched and stumbled. She tripped over the rocky street with increasing frequency, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if what she was feeling was anything close to what Elphaba had felt the first time she had faced an angry mob. Alone.

Glinda stumbled again, her ankle twisting painfully. Elphaba paused, an unidentifiable emotion flying across her face, but Glinda simply shook her head and began running again. They were close. The North Gate wasn't quite in sight, but it was close. She would not give up now, not so close to safety. So they began sprinting again. But their pace was not as fast, and the crowd began to grow closer too rapidly.

They would catch up.

Exhaustion tugged at Glinda's limbs, making them feel heavy, and she prayed for the end of the rows of cookie-cutter buildings. She wanted desperately to see the North Gate and the people waiting there for them. And most of all, she wanted that stony expression off of Elphaba's face. For as long as she could remember, Glinda had been tortured by that expression. She wanted Elphaba to smile, to be safe, to stop being hurt and in danger because of Glinda's mistakes. They could have left in secret, left Oz to deal with it as they may. Elphaba's life was worth that much, and she wouldn't lose her a second time.

They careened around a corner wildly, and another protest arose from Glinda's body. And then, and then, she saw it, out of her peripheral vision. Just for an instant, before buildings blocked her view once more. There was the crowd, so close that she could hear individual shouts.

"There they are!"

"Get them! Stop them!"

"Kill the traitors!"

This wasn't supposed to happen, Glinda thought, panicked. They were supposed to have a moment of terror and then escape back to Earth by the skin of their teeth, jarred but safe. "Elphaba!" she said desperately, as if the green witch could do anything about their predicament.

"Glinda, we're so close," Elphaba said urgently, speaking to her for the first time since they had bid each other goodbye at the encampment. And Glinda could now understand why. Her voice was laced with a desperation and fear that rivaled Glinda's own. "The North Gate, it's just a few streets away! We can do this!"

And Glinda desperately wanted to believe her, desperately wanted to believe they could make it, but her limbs were so tired. The North Gate wasn't even in view, and the quickest of the mob were only one street back. How had they caught up so quickly? And how would she and Elphaba reach Fiyero and Lilla in time?

An icy feeling permeated the pit of Glinda's stomach as a thought occurred to her. What if Fiyero and Lilla were not right there? What if they were not ready and waiting? Then Glinda and Elphaba would have run in vain, for surely they would be overtaken by the mob immediately after. This fear drove her to run faster, to try harder, but their pace was slowing steadily. She could only hope that their pursuers would be equally troubled by exhaustion.

They turned another corner, and another corner, and it was there. The North Gate, at the end of the excruciatingly long street, standing obliviously as one of the wardens of Glinda's prison for the last eight hundred years. A surge of hope welled up inside her, prompting her to move forward even faster. Every limb screamed at her and every step jolted her arms, blinding her with both pain and exhilaration; they were so close.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Elphaba's mind raced with several thousand different thoughts at once, most of which began with the words, "What if?". It was just like the first time she had done this, though she'd never had to endure this awful period of running for her life. She'd had a reliable plan last time. She'd _known_ Fiyero was there, ready to come to her and start a new life. This time... she didn't even know if he'd made it out of the castle alive.

Her muscles ached with exertion, she realized as she turned her thoughts away from their morbid path. She wasn't twenty-six anymore, and she hadn't been on the run for eight years. She wasn't as fit as she once was, and though she moved quickly and ably, her body was quick to remind her that she was going to pay for this. If she made it out alive.

She could see the North Gate, which filled her with a relief she couldn't quite describe. The large wall was the most comforting sight she could think of at the moment, though she couldn't for the life of her think of a way to open it in time. That didn't matter Glinda would make it, they'd make it, and she'd be home.

Or dead.

As this thought appeared in her mind, she felt a sudden, splitting pain in her side. She faltered, stumbling and falling onto the cobblestones on the street, gasping for breath. Glinda, who had been running slightly ahead from an unexpected burst of energy, was jerked back, her hand still firmly grasping Elphaba's.

Elphaba touched her side delicately, numbly, oblivious to Glinda's desperate cries of, "Hurry up, Elphie! Hurry!". She had an arrow in her side. Where the _hell_ had someone gotten an arrow? Or a bow to shoot it with? No, she couldn't think of that, she had to move. But the pain, it hurt so badly. She could hear the shouts getting closer to them, she knew they were so close, close enough to shoot her with an arrow. She had to move. So she stumbled to her feet. And she was struck again, this time by a rock that hit her lower back. She fell again, and she heard Glinda scream. No, they had been doing so well, they had been so close. But she couldn't get up. Flaring pain rose up from her lower back, preventing her from moving anywhere. And Glinda, with her broken arm, was powerless to move her.

They had been doing so well.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Fiyero and Lilla had watched in horror as Glinda's execution ceremony and subsequent escape took place in the sky above them. Not an exclamation, not a scream, not a word passed between them; their nerves were both too frayed for them to do anything but watch in petrified silence as Glinda and Elphaba were attacked.

Then, the picture slowed down and sparked for a brief moment. And when it caught up again, it was following Glinda and Elphaba as they dashed through the deserted Emerald City. It showed Glinda wincing with pain, and it showed Elphaba's face arranged in the expression she always wore when she was absolutely terrified. Fiyero had only seen it once or twice.

And though the picture followed Glinda, as if it were magicked to focus on her and in the chaos, the creator of the picture had forgotten about it, the massive population of the Emerald City could clearly be seen chasing, and gaining on, the two witches from the picture's aerial view. He watched with bated breath, praying to every god he could think of that the both of them would escape alive and that they'd reach his location.

He felt utterly useless hiding behind the tall trees that marked the beginning of the forest beyond the Emerald City. He wanted to look away from the screen, but it was like watching a train wreck; his eyes could not be torn away. And then Elphaba fell.

At first, he couldn't understand, couldn't see. But then he heard Glinda scream as she was jerked back closer to Elphaba; he heard both the picture's scream and Glinda's actual scream, in a sort of stereo that made everything more awful. The green woman had an arrow in her side. And Fiyero's heart sank.

He watched, silent as the grave, as Glinda pulled Elphaba to her feet and began running again, but this time, it was Lilla's stifled scream that echoed in his ears as a large rock that looked as if it'd been pulled up from the street itself collided with Elphaba and forced her to the ground once more. And he watched as, after a heartbreaking second of uncertainty, Glinda crumpled to the ground and wrapped herself around the green woman as if she, too, had been struck. It was so completely awful, so completely despairing. It looked so intensely personal, as if no one, not the crowd, not Fiyero, not anyone else watching should be allowed to watch this moment. It was the two witches and only the two witches. It was them giving up.

"No," Fiyero breathed, unaware that he was doing so. No, he could hear them, just on the other side of the wall. And yet he couldn't make himself move, couldn't. He could only watch, petrified, as the crowd finally reached them and surrounded them, hiding them from his view.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

She heard shouts all around her, felt hands tugging at her, trying to push her away, trying to pull her away from Elphaba, but she would not be moved. She was not aware of her screaming, but she could think of no other source for the shrill noise that filled her ears. The chaos was too great for any one person to strike them; there was only an furious disorganization, with everyone ripping at her at once. And she hurt so badly.

"Elphie, Elphie," she pleaded, rocking slowly and trying to rouse the green woman. "You can't sleep now, you can't. We won't get home. You have to wake up," she continued, ignoring the grasping hands.

She clenched Elphaba tighter as the both of them moved. So Elphaba was conscious, and there could be hope. But the crowd was pressing on them, suffocating them. And then it occurred to Glinda, something so simple, something so second-nature, that she wondered why she hadn't thought of it before. She felt something sharp hit her bad shoulder, and she let out another shriek, one filled with both pain and the thrill of a revelation.

There was still hope, and they would not be stopped, not now.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Lilla had lost sight of the Ladies Glinda and Elphaba in the swirling mass of murderous Ozians, and with that, she began losing hope, her heart sinking faster than a stone falling from the sky. She watched, terrified into stillness as the crowd completely engulfed them.

"Master Fiyero," she cried urgently. "Make them stop! Make them get away from Lady Glinda and Lady Elphaba!"

She didn't know what she expected him to accomplish, motivated only by her words, but she could not bear to stand and watch as her beloved Lady Glinda was ripped apart. "I don't... I don't know how!" Fiyero said, gritting his teeth as if saying those words brought him physical pain. "We have to trust in them and hope... hope for the best."

So, Scarecrow and handmaiden continued watching the events that played out not two-hundred yards away from them, beyond the trees and past the solid emerald stone that made up the North Gate. And both feared for their lives and for the lives of the two women who were under vicious attack.

Then, something amazing happened. A sudden shriek pierced the unrelenting chaos, and a sudden blast forced the entire mob back from one fixed point in the circle. And from that circle, a gigantic sphere of energy burst forth, blowing away any who happened to be standing in the way. And this sphere was most notably... _pink._

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Elphaba Thropp, you are not losing consciousness now," Glinda said adamantly, her eyes narrowed and her teeth gritted in both determination and fear as her bubble bowled over most of their pursuers and bolted straight toward the North Gate. Her vision was blurry around the edges, and she was not quite strong enough to lift the bubble above the level of the wall. She was supporting herself as well as Elphaba, and pain radiated in a continuous throb from her shoulder.

"And what will happen if I do?" Elphaba asked, teasing Glinda weakly as they hurdled toward the North Gate. She could hold her head up at least, and she was eying the solid emerald wall with apprehension. "Surely it'd make it painless for me when we crash headlong into that wall and die."

"Forget that... we're charging through it," Glinda said, panting slightly. "I don't... have enough strength to pull it... up enough. So, hold-" She broke off as the collision in question knocked her back off her feet.

She hit the back of the bubble with a jolt that sent her vision spinning and her shoulder stabbing with a new vengeance. Then, she felt the bubble disappear from beneath her, and both she and Elphaba were sent rolling, scraping against hard ground. She pulled herself up to a standing position slowly and shakily, but she seemed to be completely intact.

She spared a glance back, and a large, circular hole was carved into the gate, the stone itself twisted and warped. Her bubble had done that? She held a hand to her rib, wincing as she realized she was using her bad arm to do so. Through the hole, the crowd seemed to be in a daze. Although, a few people had spotted her staring them down.

"Legs, arms, feet, hands, neck, mouth, nose, head," came Elphaba's mutter from Glinda's feet. "Check. I'm alive," she continued, her eyes closed as she lay sprawled on the ground.

"Lady Glinda!" Lilla's voice called excitedly.

"Elphaba!" Fiyero called simultaneously. Glinda pulled Elphaba up once more, still marveling at the damage to the North Gate and the fact that she had just taken her first step out of the city in centuries.

"Yero!" Elphaba responded, suddenly rejuvenated. Her eyes lit up with excitement and relief as she wrapped her arms around the Scarecrow Man. Then, she smiled as Glinda was tackled to the ground with a grunt of pain by her handmaiden.

"Lilla," Glinda breathed painfully. "It's good to see you." She gasped for breath as Lilla immediately hopped off of the smaller woman, blushing furiously and uttering one thousand apologies all at once. She couldn't help but smile at the teenager's distress.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Esmeralda's voice boomed, assaulting the group's eardrums with sound and causing them all to jump violently as the Ruler of Oz addressed her citizens. "They will escape! Hurry, Ozians, they are just within your grasp!"

"Elphaba!" Glinda said urgently, immediately whirling around to face the disoriented crowd that was gathering its bearings in response to Esmeralda's call.

"Already on it," Elphaba said in a low voice, and indeed she was. Her body started to slowly radiate green light, and she drew her three companions close, not wanting to lose them once again.

"Stay with me. Don't let go," she said, though the statement was more of a plea than an order. She watched warily as the crowd started to slowly move toward them again, a few of the brighter citizens finally catching on to the plan that Glinda and Elphaba had struggled to keep secret. They broke out in a mad dash for the group, shouting motivational sayings at the stragglers behind them.

"Elphie," Glinda said worriedly as the green light intensified and spread, making her skin almost as green as her friend's. The crowd was now moving at an accelerated pace, suddenly aware of what was happening in front of them. "Elphie, why aren't we disappearing?"

"It's just a little... difficult, Glinda..." Elphaba panted, her eyes clenched shut in concentration. "We're barely... able to run. You think my magic... will be at full power?"

Glinda did not reply. She simply watched, praying, as the frontrunners of the mob reached the mangled Gate and began to climb through it. They were not far away at all, she noted as her vision began to turn green at the edges and her stomach started to churn uncomfortably. She could see the looks of sheer determination and fierce resentment in their eyes, at least. And that meant they were too close. Every thought she'd had in the past week raced through her mind, and she once again found herself doubting whether or not she was doing the right thing, the good thing.

She spaced for a moment, staring into space. Then, a shout brought her back to real-time thought. She let out a strangled shriek; the first Ozian, the guard she knew to be Strenze, was not ten yards away. "Elpha-"

Her scream was cut off, along with her air supply. She only had time to see Strenze's furious expression changed to a baffled one before the green that had been slowly covering her vision turned completely opaque and blinded her. Her stomach leapt to her throat, and her heart sank down to her knees as she was jerked to the side like a rag doll. What was happening to her? She was spinning wildly, and she could no longer feel Elphaba's touch, nor anything at all.

Had she died? Was someone casting a magic spell on her? She was hurtling in midair, headed in every direction and remaining stationery at the same time. She didn't know what to think, and her mind was reeling. Was this the afterlife? What had gone wrong? Did people think in the afterlife?

Before she had time to calm down and assess her situation, her air supply was returned to her, her vision restored, and she found herself crumpling to the ground, landing on someone's body with a painful jolt.

She slowly rolled off the person she had landed on and rolled onto her hands and knees. Every sense was reeling and every nerve was frayed, sending pain signals from everywhere in her body. She slowly, ever so slowly opened her eyes. She blinked rapidly, staring down at the most vivid green grass she'd ever seen.

She examined her hands. They seemed smoother, glowing more radiantly than she had known they could. They didn't look so... dull. She slowly pulled herself up, examining the world around her. She saw... Lilla. She saw a house, a fence. She saw...

She let out another scream, but it caught in her throat, coming out as a quiet, but intense squeak. "El-Elphaba?" she demanded incredulously.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Elphaba recovered quickly from the transportation, pulling herself to her feet almost immediately. She brushed herself off and looked around, to make sure she hadn't pulled any stragglers along with her. Thankfully, she hadn't. She examined herself. All her body parts were intact. Thankfully. She would have continued to make sure everything was in order, had her train of thought not been interrupted by a very panicked-sounding Glinda.

"El-Elphaba?" Glinda's voice demanded.

"Yes?" Elphaba asked slowly, unsure of the reason for Glinda's panic. "What's the matter?"

"You... you're not... that is to say... you're not green!" Glinda said, motioning at Elphaba's body in utter shock.

"Oh," Elphaba said, relieved that it wasn't an actual problem. "No, Glinda, something about Earth changes me. It gets rid of my green skin. And it removes Fiyero's Scarecrow enchantment. I assume they were both spells after all and that, since they weren't cast in this world, they're disrupted while we're here and have no effect."

"I... see," Glinda said, clearly struggling to keep a calm persona. She eyed Fiyero as he finally managed to make Elphaba realize that she was standing on him and managed to stand up. Lilla and Glinda both were reeling from shock, though the child simply stared, wide-eyed, at the new world around her.

Elphaba glanced away in an effort to allow the two newcomers to Earth a chance to acclimatize, and she found herself locking eyes with a very, very, _very_ shocked-looking next door neighbor. She examined herself, for though she was free of mud, she was still dressed in the traditional uniform of the Ozian Guard. And Lilla was dressed in the typical Ozian fashion. The only one who looked halfway normal, for once, was Glinda.

Elphaba sheepishly stuck one of her hands in a hidden pocket and waved the other at the man, whose hedge-clippers were paused in mid-snip. "Er... Hi Phil," she said amiably.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Phil Stevens could not believe his eyes. The couple from next door had popped out of the sky and landed in their front yard. With them, this time, was a teenaged girl dressed just as strangely as Fae had been when she had taken on the man with the spear. And Fae herself was now dressed like that very guard. And yet another woman, an admittedly beautiful, blonde woman that looked to be in her twenties, fell with them, though she was dressed somewhat normally, in a simple cloth dress.

He could not be going crazy, he insisted to himself. Hallucinations were not supposed to look so realistic, were they? He mulled over his options as he stared blankly at the odd group, his hedge-clippers poised to clip at any moment.

And then Fae spoke to him, and the two strangers eyed him with a sort of... frightened suspicion, as if they were afraid he was going to attack them.

Phil Stevens had only ever wanted to live a normal life. Ever since the appearance of his ridiculous next-door neighbors eight years ago, that hope had been dashed. "Who are... your friends?" he asked weakly, hoping to figure out if they were going to be as much of a disturbance as Fae and her husband were. However, to his immense surprise, Fae was not the one to answer.

"My name is Glinda," the blonde woman said, stepping forward and speaking in a high voice that sounded remarkably like a bell. If Phil Stevens were not madly in love with his wife Gladys, he might have noted her attractiveness with something other than mild interest. "It is a pleasure to meet you, sir," she said, though she sounded as if she thought of Phil as a child, rather than a man forty years her senior. "And this is," she paused to motion at the teenager by her side, "This is my... daughter. Lilla."

"A pleasure," Phil grumbled in response, ignoring the surprised jump from the girl. He could not tell, at the moment, whether these two new people would be a permanent addition to the Tular household next door, but the woman seemed quite normal, if not downright diplomatic, so he somewhat hoped that if she were to remain, she might keep a reign on the weirdness that were Fae and Fiyero.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The people, Glinda noted, were not that different from Ozians. They reacted much the same way to things that surprised them. For that matter, the only thing that seemed to be different about this Colorado place, in this country called America, on this planet called Earth, is that everything was much more vivid. The colors, that is. The green of the grass was... well, greener. The skies were bluer than any of the most beautiful days she'd seen in the Emerald City. Skin shone more readily, each person standing out as a stunning identity in their own right.

And, she thought, as she continued her somewhat awkward conversation with the man known as 'Phil', if that was all the difference between Oz and Earth, if she could stay there and lay low for once, with Elphaba and Lilla and Fiyero, and not have to worry about staying popular or keeping the peace. If she could just relax and enjoy the company of those she had missed so dearly...

Well, she just might be able to get used to that.

**PLEASE READ BELOW:**

**Dear readers,**

** I have some news. This is essentially the last chapter. It'll be the last part of this official story. However, there will be an epilogue. I'm going to put together a bunch of small bits about how these four deal with Earth life together. Feel free to suggest ideas in a review. On top of that, I'm going to go back and edit the story. The whole thing. There'll be some changes, some big, some small, and a few details added here and there to make the story better. So, if you have a Story Alert subscription, (and if you do, I love you) and you get the notification for next time, I'd recommend starting from scratch and reading from Chapter 1 straight to the Epilogue for the full effect. **

**And finally, I'd also like to thank you all for reading this story. It's the first full-length story I've ever written, and you all were here to help me get through it. I couldn't be happier.**

**So, for the second to last time, I implore you, please click that review button!**


	14. Epilogue

**BEFORE YOU READ: That huge edit I promised? Yes, I'm having a little trouble completing that, because I started this on an old computer which is now broken down, and took the first eight chapters with it. And apparently, I can't copy/paste my own story into a document. Who knew? As soon as I figure something out, there will be edits, I swear. Alright! Continue on!**

**Hi everybody! Welcome to the conclusion of my very first completed story. This story took over a year to complete, no thanks to my slacker tendencies, but I am so very grateful for all of you who reviewed, alerted, favorited, or just simply read my story. I really could not have done it without you. To say that this story is because of you is an understatement, and it is because I am so thankful to you all that I give you this epilogue and this final chapter. Thank you so much, everybody!**

**Epilogue**

"Elphie," Glinda said in a low, panicked voice, drawing out the second syllable of Elphaba's name in fear. "What do I do? What do I do? I'm scared!"

Elphaba had to work hard to suppress her laughter. "Glin, we're going roughly two miles an hour. You can step on the pedal. That dog that's half a mile in front of us will be dead of old age before we reach it."

"You're sure?" Glinda asked uncertainly, taking her eyes off the road to meet Elphaba's. The car abruptly began turning to the left before she hurried to correct it. Elphaba began to nod her head in reassurance, but Glinda's apparent grasp of 'correcting' the issue meant that she was supposed to floor it. The car immediately sped up, roaring furiously.

"Oh sweet Oz! What do I do? What do I do?" Glinda shrieked, her foot keeping the accelerator pinned to the floor.

"The clutch! The clutch, Glinda!" Elphaba shouted desperately over the sound of the car's gears grinding. "Push it down!"

"And do what?"

"_Take your foot off the accelerator and press the brake!_" Elphaba screamed, and Glinda obliged, the car careening to a stop a mere foot away from the golden retriever sitting dumbly in the street. Glinda held the wheel with an iron grip, her entire body shaking.

"E-Elphie?" she stuttered, gasping for breath as she trembled. The equally frightened woman in the passenger's seat simply stared at her, her eyes wide with shock as she tried to process the narrowly-escaped death.

"Yes, Glinda?"

"I'm never driving again."

"That's probably wise."

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Oh my Oz, Lilla," Glinda said quietly, looking up at the girl in a black graduation gown. Her eyes watered painfully, but tears stalwartly refused to spill. "Look at you. You're all grown up."

"Don't say that, Lady Glinda," Lilla laughed, "Compared to you, I'm absolutely infantile!"

"How many times have I told you to call me Glinda?" the small blonde asked, reprimanding her gently. "Didn't the incident with the man at the grocery store prove that using my former title is unwise?"

Lilla frowned, tapping her chin with a finger. "But it doesn't feel right. You'll always be Lady Glinda to me." Abruptly, she smiled sheepishly. "You'll always be my role model."

Glinda looked taken aback, her eyes shining as a smile sprouted on her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but Fiyero and Elphaba chose their moment to appear on the scene.

"Where's that smart chick?" Fiyero demanded proudly, his eyes finding Lilla almost immediately. "Look at you, kid. Graduating from college. Never thought a handmaid would have had it in her."

"Fiyero!" Elphaba said incredulously, slapping his arm smartly in a practiced gesture. "Anyone can graduate if they try hard enough. Though I'm still baffled by your choice, Lilla. Who majors in fashion these days?"

Glinda beamed happily. "Girls who know how to put their talents to use. Don't listen to them, Lilla. Fashion is an _excellent_ major."

Lilla laughed affectionately, and wrapped her arms around Glinda hesitantly, still unused to hugging the greatest woman known to Oz. However, a glance at her odd time-telling device, called a watch, told her that she was late. Her eyes widened, and she all but dashed into the auditorium, her new family racing after her.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Elphaba woke up that morning to a loud, excited scream from the bathroom. Immediately, she was out of bed and halfway into the hallway, her hair a mess and her pajamas askew. "Glinda?" she asked hurriedly, poking her head into the bathroom uncertainly. "Is everything alright?"

"_Elphie,_" Glinda said urgently, an impossible amount of joy surging through the two syllables alone. "Elphie, look." She pointed at the corner of her eye, as if that should tell Elphaba everything.

The formerly-green woman tilted her head, baffled. "I don't see anything."

"Elphaba, it's a wrinkle," Glinda said, her face filled with absolute happiness. Not the reaction Elphaba would have expected for such news. "I'm aging!" the blonde woman elaborated, her grin widening. "It's here; living, definite proof that I am no longer immortal."

Elphaba's confusion turned to understanding in an instant. She smiled warmly. "That's wonderful, Glinda. Get a few more of those, and we can be wrinkle twins."

Glinda's mouth formed an 'o' shape, and her eyes lit up with fascination. "Can that happen?" she asked disbelievingly.

Elphaba burst into laughter at the sight. "Where is that eight-hundred year old bundle of maturity that I brought back from Oz?" she asked between bouts of laughter. "All I see is a tiny child in a grown woman's body!"

Glinda grinned again, looking more content than she had ever looked in Oz. "I left her behind…" she trailed off, her eyes darkening for the slightest second. "I had to grow up far too fast, and I think it's high time I made up for that with some good, old-fashioned immaturity."

"Good, old-fashioned immaturity?" Elphaba repeated, peering at the smaller woman speculatively. "I think you've gone beyond that and developed a whole new level."

"You bet," Glinda nodded, her curls bobbing as she tapped Elphaba's nose and waltzed out of the bathroom humming. "For the record," she added, calling over her shoulder. "I've hidden four whoopee cushions all around the house. Have fun finding them!"

It took a moment for Elphaba to process this. When she did, her eyes widened in horror. "No, Glinda, wait!" she called hurriedly, chasing after the sudden sound of maniacal giggling.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"It's beautiful, Fiyero. Just what I've always wanted. What is it?" Elphaba asked doubtfully, looking down on the sealed envelope that sat in the middle of the kitchen table, simply begging Elphaba to open it.

"Well, it's a bit of a double present this year," Fiyero said, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck. Elphaba swatted him away impatiently, her insatiable curiosity getting the better of her.

"Who am I sharing it with?" she asked, turning in his grasp so that her forehead rested on his and their eyes met. "On _my_ birthday?" she added, just for good measure. In case he hadn't caught on to her slight annoyance yet.

He laughed and swung her around, setting her down in the kitchen chair without her consent. She shot him a glare. "You're sharing it with Glinda. But I really don't think you'll mind."

"Of course I mind, Fiyero!" Elphaba said, folding her arms over her body and working to suppress a smile. "It's an envelope, it's small, there's only one of it, and it's my birthday! I therefore claim it to be my envelope, nobody else's, and I'll be damned if I let anyone else touch my envelope!"

Fiyero chuckled, his eyes crinkling in that way that Elphaba loved so much. "Well, the envelope is only part of the gift. And if it helps, Glinda never has to touch the envelope."

"No one has to touch the envelope," she said pointedly, utterly failing to keep the smirk from her face.

"Well," Fiyero said, looking around impatiently. "Little Blonde Girl in question is nowhere to be found. So… I suppose a small spoiler might be in order?"

"Oh, you mean I get to open this precious envelope?" Elphaba asked archly, her left eyebrow raising into her hairline.

Fiyero leaned in conspiratorially. "That's exactly what it means," he said in a theatrical whisper.

Elphaba needed no further prodding. She leapt at the envelope, tearing it open. Inside it, she found a set of directions. "Really, Fiyero?" she asked skeptically, disgust evident in her tone. "I have to go out and drive around to find my gift?"

"Yep. Sorry," Fiyero said, shrugging. Elphaba sighed, grabbing her keys.

When she reached the end of her directions, she was stopped outside her favorite old bookstore and café, and an exceedingly familiar blonde woman was standing there, practically bursting with suppressed excitement. Elphaba got out of the car and cautiously walked toward the ticking blonde time-bomb.

"Glinda, what's going on? What is this?" she asked, her hands held out protectively in front of her, just in case.

"This," Glinda said, gesturing broadly at the storefront behind her, "Is ours!"

There was a long moment of silence. "I don't follow," Elphaba said flatly, and Glinda sighed her impatience.

"Elphaba, it's ours!" she repeated, her eyes shining dazedly, " The bookstore. The cute little café. It's ours! Fiyero bought it for us!"

Elphaba's mouth dropped open in disbelief, eying the bookstore that had offered her so much comfort over the years. She knew that the owner had been planning to sell, but this… "Oh my god," she breathed. "This is perfect."

"Glad you think so," Fiyero's voice said behind her, and she turned to find him striding up the street. "However, I had to buy the deed in advance to ensure that no one else did, so I had to give the bookstore and café a name."

Elphaba and Glinda looked momentarily horrified, but Fiyero simply smiled charmingly.

"I hope Over the Rainbow is fitting."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Elphie?" Glinda's small voice came from beside her, the already almost inaudible squeak muffled by the cushion she clung to.

"Yeah? What is it, Glin?" Elphaba asked, pausing the movie they'd been watching.

"I don't think watching this movie was a good idea," she said quietly, and it was now evident to Elphaba that the blonde woman had been crying. For how long, she didn't know.

"What do you mean, Glinda?" she asked gently, not wanting to set her off. "It's just a movie about a girl coming of age. Your typical story, going off to college, leaving the family to start her own- Oh. Oh… Glinda," Elphaba said, suddenly realizing what was wrong. She immediately gathered the tiny woman into a hug, stroking at her hair. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize."

"I miss her, Elphie," Glinda whispered into Elphaba's shoulder. "I didn't think when we came here that she might ever want to move out. To leave me."

"But, Glin… We're still here. Aren't we? Me and Fiyero?"

"But who am I supposed to talk to when you two are… preoccupied?" Glinda asked weakly, and the complete devastation in her voice completely eradicated the humor in her statement.

Elphaba gently took Glinda's chin in her hand and lifted Glinda's face until their eyes met. She wiped away the tears she found there and smiled. "You could always find yourself a boyfriend," she suggested, her eyebrows waggling.

Glinda couldn't help but let out a giggle. "Me? Find a man? A girl I knew a long time ago would already have ten men lined up, and ten more on standby."

Elphaba laughed, leaning back and slinging the remote aside. "Funny, I think we're thinking of the same girl."

"Mm," Glinda nodded her head thoughtfully. "But wherever am I going to find a man to call me Lady Glinda?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Glinda drifted out onto the porch of their small business, which had grown quite successful in the short time they'd been in charge of it. Smiling warmly at the customer she was headed for, she greeted a few regulars before delivering the man in question his requested coffee.

"Here you are, sir," she said politely, and he nervously nodded his thanks.

"You can call me Alfredo," he said, shuffling his hands together and looking anywhere but at Glinda. She tilted her head, confused by his behavior.

"Oh, but sir, we hardly know each other," she teased, and he looked up at her hesitantly. "A lady never calls a man by his first name on their first meeting. However, if we're exchanging names, I'm Glinda."

He seemed to garner up his courage, smiling shyly at her. "Well, since you're a true lady, I might just have to come here more often. If I want you to call me Alfredo. Shall I just call you Lady Glinda until then?"

Glinda's eyes widened, and she stared at the man called Alfredo until he felt quite uncomfortable. She turned on her heel suddenly, rapidly dashing into the bookstore. The flowing yellow skirts of her sundress swirled around her knees attractively as Alfredo watched her retreat.

"Elphieeee!" Alfredo heard her call as she ran inside, presumably to the other owner of the store. "You are not going to _believe_ what just happened!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Fae?" Fiyero called from downstairs, and Elphaba groaned, tossing and turning in her bed grumpily. However, his calls continued relentlessly, and she was forced out of bed. She would do anything to stop his disturbance of her sleep. Preferably anything that involved violence.

"What what what?" she demanded grouchily as she trailed into the kitchen. There, she found Lilla, Glinda, and Fiyero all sitting at the table. "What's going on?"

"Do you remember what today is?" Lilla asked gently, well aware of Elphaba's inability to be cheerful in the morning. It was then that the older woman realized that Lilla should be off in Paris, designing new clothing and such.

Sudden realization struck Elphaba. "It's your tenth year here, isn't it?" she asked. Though, perhaps she sounded more eloquent in her head, because Fiyero had to translate for Lilla. Apparently, she'd been gone long enough that she no longer understood Elphaba-speak.

"Yes it is!" Glinda added, smiling happily. Curse all morning people and their morning smiles, Elphaba thought bitterly. "And your eighteenth! Isn't that exciting? If we were in Oz, we'd have lived a thousand years by now!"

"Yeah, exciting," Elphaba groaned, struck by the sudden thought of how old she was. "God, I'm forty-four."

"You don't look a day over twenty, dear," Fiyero said immediately.

"Got you beat by a few centuries, Elphaba," Glinda supplied at the same time.

"Bunch of flatterers," she grumbled, moving to grab a pre-prepared coffee cup.

"I'm not a flatterer, don't include me in this!" Lilla protested, waving her arms violently. "Not a single flattering word did I say."

Elphaba jabbed her cup in their general direction. "You lot," she said, with another jab for emphasis. "You're all insane. You'd better be glad I've kept you all alive for these past years."

Her declaration was met with derisive snorts from all three people at the table. "What?" she demanded. "Don't deny it. Fiyero, tell them how scared you were of that Grizzly Bear. Go on, do it. Then try and act like the dashing hero of this family."

Fiyero laughed. "That story is never leaving my lips. And if you don't want to lose _your_ lips, I suggest you think twice, dearest."

"Meh," Elphaba said, shrugging off his threat. "Would you ever like to sleep in the same bed as me again?"

Glinda gasped, horrified. "Elphaba, honestly!" she reprimanded sharply.

Fiyero, however, simply grumbled. "That threat would be more effective if you didn't use it _every_ time you wanted me to do something."

Lilla burst into unexpected laughter, drawing the eyes of the other three Ozians to her. She held her sides, gasping for breath. "If you had told me," she said, panting for breath once she'd laughed herself out, "When I was ten, that I would be living with the Lady Glinda, a former scarecrow, and a witch from ancient legend, I would have graciously offered to take you to the nearest infirmary."

"To be fair, you don't live with us anymore," Elphaba said pointedly, and Glinda nodded her agreement.

"Yeah, but I still get to call you all family, right?" Lilla asked. "We're family?"

"She's got a point, there," Fiyero admitted. "I'd say we're all family." Elphaba simply shrugged.

Glinda giggled. When the speculative looks turned to her, the tears were already streaming down her face. "Eight centuries alone and dressed up like a porcelain doll," she offered as explanation, "And then the Unnamed God gives me you all. Gives me a family again. We're family!"

"God, Glin, way to sap it up," Elphaba said, but received only an overly fond glance from the blonde girl.

"We're family, though. It's been so long since I could say that! A long, long time," Glinda said. Then, examining Lilla, she abruptly shrieked. "Lilla!" she shouted with delight, grabbing the grown woman's face and pulling it closer to see more clearly. "You have a wrinkle too! A laugh line! Do you know what this means?"

"What?" the terrified woman asked, touching her face as if to deny the wrinkle's existence.

Glinda beamed happily, looking absolutely giddy. "We're a wrinkle family!"

"God save us all," Elphaba muttered.

**The End :)**


End file.
